IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0     If  KS  I 


I.I 


1.25 


2.5 


1^1 


110 


22 
2.0 


11= 

U    IIIIII.6 


V] 


<^ 


/a 


^M 


o 


// 


7 


///. 


Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14S80 

(716)  873-<S03 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  technique*  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


n 


n 


a 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagie 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  peliiculAe 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gAographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  coufeur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relit  avec  d'autre^  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrte  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ol  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte. 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6tA  filmAes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  .ui  a  At*  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  d6tails 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normals  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


The  I 
to  th 


D 
D 
D 
0 
0 
0 


O 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelliculAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicolortes,  tachettes  ou  piquAes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachtes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


Thei 
poss 
of  th 
film! 


Origi 
begii 
the  ii 
sion, 
othe 
first 
sion, 
or  ilii 


□    Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quaiiti  inAgole  de  I'lmpression 

n    Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 

□    Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


Thai 
shall 
TINL 
whic 

Map; 
diffei 
entiri 
begli 
right 
requi 
meth 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  M  filmies  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


0 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires: 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

1 

y 

1 
1 

12X                            16X                            20X                            24X                            28X                            32X 

i 

ra 

l«tails 
It  du 
nodifier 
ir  une 
ilmaga 


as 


Tha  copy  filmad  hara  has  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  genarosity  of: 

Mills  Memorial  Library 
McMatter  University 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
gintrositA  da: 

Mills  Memorial  Library 
McMaster  University 


Las  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetd  de  I'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ^»  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmis  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff6rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  filmd  A  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droita, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  n^cessaire.  Las  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


errata 
tl  to 


e  pelure, 
;on  i 


n 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Y 


,\ 


f 


.  s 


0 


I.    J3   I 

C     'M    I 


OUTLINES 


OF   THE 


HISTORY  OF  DOGMxi 


hi 
n 


i 


I 


'f- 


I  V 


il 


I 


^1 


{■■! 


I 


/',    . 


"fi 


I 


1 


I 


\ 


I 


r . 


Hi' 


OUTLLXES 


OF  THE 


HISTORY  OF  DOGAIA 


IJY 


Dr.   ADOLF  HARXACK 

Profrssor  of  Church  History  in  the  University  of  Hrrlin 
THAN  SLATED    15  Y 

EDWIN  KNOX  MITCHELL,  M.A. 

Professor  of  Grcrco-noman  mul  Eastrrn  Church  History  in 
Hartford  Theoloyical  Hcminary 


r£W    YORK 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS   CO.AH^ANY 

LONDON    AND    TORONTO 

Printed  in  the  United  States 


'I 


li 


CopvnionT,  1893,  by  toe 
FUNK   &   WAGNALL8   COMPANY 


[Reyistered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  Eny.] 


i 


n 


('* 


'■  ♦  I  'a 


I 


1  ■ 

1 

f    ' 

■1 

\ 

1 

1 

n 

hi 
f 

I 

I 
i  4 


n 


I '  R  E  F  A  ( ;  E  . 


f' 


\U 


.i1 


«. 


! 


II 


i.iv' 

f 


rpHK  English    tr/mslation  oi    mv  ''(Inindrisj 


^j 


ss 


(Icr  J)()gint'ng('schic'ht(*''  lias  hwn  made, 
in  accordanco  with  my  expressed  wish,  by  my 
former  puinl  and  esteemed  friend,  iMi-.  Edwin 
Knox  ^litchell.  Tt  is  my  pleasant  duty  to  ex- 
press to  him  here  my  heartiest  thanks. 

English  and  American  theological  literature 
possess  excellent  works,  hut  they  are  not  rich 
in  products  within  thcj  realm  of  the  History  of 
Do^^ma.  I  may  therefore  perhaps  hope  that 
my  "Grundriss"  will  supply  a  want.  J  shall 
he  most  happy,  if  I  can  with  tliis  hook  do  my 
English  and  American  friends  and  fellow-work- 
ers some  service — a  small  return  for  the  rich 
benefit  which  I  have  reaped  from  their  labors. 
In  reality,  however,  tlu^-o  no  longer  exists  any 
distinction  between  German  and  Englisli  theo- 
logical science.  The  exchange  is  now  so  brisk 
that  scientific  theologians  of  all  evangelical 
lands  form  already  one  Concilium. 

Adolf   IIarxack. 

WlLaiERSDOKF  NEAR   BERLIN, 

March  17th,  1893. 


if 


I 


■11 


CONTENTS. 


Prolegomena  to  the  Disci  pi  inp 

I.  Idea  and  Aim  of  the  History  of  Do^'ma 
II.  Narrative  of  the  History  of  Dogma  '         ' 

F'resuppositions  of  the  History  of  Dogma  .         .        . 

HI.  Introductory 

IV.  Tho Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  according  to  His  Own 
Testimony  ..... 
V.  The    General    Proclamation    concerning    Jesus 
Chri.st  in  the  First  (Jeneration  of  His  Adherents 
VI.  The  Current  ExiM)sition  of  the  Old  Testiiraent  and 
the  Jewish  Future  Hope,  in  their  Bearing  on  the 
Earliest  Formulation  of  the  Christian  Message 
VII    The    Religious    Conceptions  and   the    Religious 
Ilnlosophy  of  the  Hellenistic  Jews  in  their  Bear- 
^nrj^'^r^'''  Transformation  of  the  Gospel  Mes.sago    . 
vni.  The  Religious  Disposition  of  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans in  the  First  Two  Centuries  and  tlie  Contem- 
porary Grseco- Roman  Philosophy  <^f  Religion 


PAOR 
1 
1 

8 
10 
10 

I.T 
1» 


23 


.•i3 


PART   I. 

THE  RISE  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  DOGMA. 

Book  I. 

THE   PREPARATION. 
Chapter  I.  —Historical  Survey 

Chapter  II.  Ground  Common  to  Christians  and  Attitude 
laken  toward  Judaism 

Chapter  HL -The  Common  Faith  and  the  Beginnings  of 
Self-Recognition  in  that  Gentile  Christianity 
which  was  to  Develoi.  into  Catholicism  . 


30 

40 

43 


vni 


CONTKNTS. 


PAflF 


(Imptrr  IV.— Attempt  of  ilic  (inohticn  t«»  CoiistiiKt  an 
Apo^ilolit-  hiM'trinc  of  l-'jiitli  atitl  to  i'rutliicr  u 
Cliristiaii  'rhi'()l«t)<y  ;  nr.  tlic  Acnti*  St'ciilai'i/.atidn 
<»f  ( 'lirisiiaiiity        ....... 

<  'haplcr  V.  .ManioMs  AUcinpt  to  St  ,\si(lc  the  Old  Tr.s- 
taiiK'iit  as  the  I'muKlatioii  uf  tin*  ( Jo.^pfl,  to  I'liiify 
Tradition,  juid  to  Ilrl'orni  (.'liri.stianity  on  the 
Hasis  of  the  rauliue  (rosprl 

("luiptcr  \'I.— Suppk'UifUt :  TliuChriHtiunity  of  tlio  Jcwi.sh 
t'hriHtiuuH 


r,M 


ro 


i 


Book  II. 

THE  LAYINO   Ol"  TllK   FOUNDATION. 

CliaptiT  I.— Historical  Survey 81 

Section  I.     Kstdhlisliiiiiiit   (if  Owistiduiti/  an  a  Church  and 
its  (Ji'diliutl  Sivitldrizdtion, 

ChaptiT  II. -The  Setting  Forth  t>f  the  Apostolic  Rules 
(Norms)  for  Ecclesiastical  Christianity.  The 
Catholic  Church 81 

A.  The  Recasting  of  the  liaptismul  (Jonfeabiou  into 

tho  Apostolic  Rule  of  Faith b5 

B.  Tho  Recoguitiou  of  a  Selection  of  Well-kuowu 

Scriptures  as  Virtually  Belougiug  to  the  Old 
Testament;  i.  e. ,  as  a  Compilation  of  Apostolic 
Scriptiu-es 88 

C.  Tho  Transformation  of  the  Episcopal  Office  in  tho 

Churcli  into  tho  Apostolic  Office.  History  of  the 
Transformation  of  the  Idea  of  th<»  Church     .  95 

Chapter  III. — Continuation:    Tho  Old  Christianity  and 

the  New  Church 100 

Section  II.      Establishment  of  Christianity  as  Doctrine  and 
its  Grudaal  Secularization. 

Chapter  IV. — Ecclesiastical  Christianity  and  Philosophy. 

Tho  Apologists 117 

Chapter  V. — Beginnings  of  an  Ecclesiastico-Theological 
Exposition  and  Revision  of  the  Rule  of  Faith  in 
OpiK)sition  to  Gnosticism  on  the  Presupposition  of 
the  New  Testament  and  the  Christian  Philosophy 
of  tho  Apologists  :  Ireuajus,  Tertullian,  Hippoly- 
tus,  Cyprian,  Novatian 130 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


;)M 


TO 
74 


rAfii: 
('liiH»t«'r  VI.— TraiiHlMniiJitioM  nf  KcclcsiaHticjil  Trmlitinii 
into  u  I'liilosopliy  of  Ucli^iuii,  or  tlii'  Oii^iii  of 
SchMitilic  Iv'cU'siastical  'I  luolu^'y  ami  DoKHiaticH  : 

Cli'iiu'nt  andOriK'H 1411 

Chapter  V'll. — Decisive  lirsult  «»f  Tlirnldj^ical  S|w>('uIation 
\\  itiiiit  the  Rcaitii  of  llic  itulcof  Faith, or  tiit>  Ddin- 
ing  of  tiu'  IvT'lrHiufstical  I)<M'triual  Norm  through 
tlio  Auci'pUmce  of  tiir  Logos  Christol«t^'y       ,         ,    100 

PART    II. 

THE   DKVELOPMENT   OF  ECCJLESIASTICAL   DOGMA. 

Book  I. 

IIISTOUY  OF  THE  DKVKLol'MKNT  (JF  DOO.MA    AS  IXKTUINK  OF  TIIK 
OOU-.MAN    ll'ON   TllK   li.VSlS  OF   N.VTL'KAL  TIIEOLOOY. 

Chai)t«'r  I. — Historical  Survey 11);{ 

Chapter  II. — The  Fuiulainental  Con(<'|)ti(»n   of  Salvation 

ami  a  General  Skuteh  of  (lie  Doctrine  of  Faith      ,   WG 
Chapter  III.— Tho  Sources  of  Knowhsl^^c  and  tlu?  Authori- 
ties, or  Scripture,  Tradition,  and  the  Cliurch       .   212 

A.   The  I*resu2>2^nitioH8  of  the  iJortriiie  of  Sah'ution,  or  Aa^ 

Hi'ul  Theoloyij. 

Chapter  IV. — The    Presuppositions    and    Conceptions    of 

God,  the  Creator,  as  tho  Dispen.ser  of  Salvation    .   22") 
Cliapter  V. — The  Presupjiositions  and  Conceptions  of  Man 

as  the  Recipient  of  Salvation         ....  229 
R.     Tlie  Dot'triu'i  of  Rrih'wjttiou    throinjh   the  Person  of  the 

Qod-M'in  in  itx  IIistorie<(l  Dereloj»iie)it. 
Chapter  VI.— Tlie  Doctrine  of  the  Necessity  and  Reality  of 
Redemption  through  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son 

of  God 

Chapter  VII.— The  Doctrine  of  the  Ilomousion  of  the  Son 

of  God  with  Go.1  TTimself 

I.   Until  Council  of  Nic;ea  .         .  .         •         • 

II.  Until  I^eath  of  ('(inst;intius 

III.  Until  Comicils  of  Constantinoi)le.  IWI,  383  . 

Supplement:    The   Doctrine    of    the   Holy  Spirit 
and  of  the  Trinity .266 


235 

242 
242 
253 
259 


CONTENTS. 


1 


PAOB 

(Chapter  VIII.— Tho    Doctrine    of    the    Perfect    Equality 
aH  to  Nature  of  the  Incarnate  »Son  of  God  and 

Humanity 274 

Oliapter  IX. — Continuation  :  Tlie  Doctrine  of  the  Personal 
Union  of  the  Divine  and  Iluniau  Niitures  in  the 

Incarnate  Son  of  God 280 

I.  The  Nestorian  Controversy    .....  280 
II.  The  Eutychian  Controversy 287 

III.  The     Monopliysite    Controversies    and    the    oth 
Council 294 

IV.  The  Monergistic  and  Monothelitic  Controversies, 
the  Gth  Council  and  John  of  Damascus  .         .  300 

C.     Tlie  Temporal  Enjoyment  of  Redemption. 

Chapter  X. — The  Mysteries,  and  Matters  Akin  to  Them 


Chapter  XI. — Conclusion  :  Sketch  of  the  Historic  Begin- 
nings of  the  Orthodox  System        .         .        .         . 


305 
318 


Book  IT 


■H 


EXPANSION  AND  RECASTING  OF  THE  DOGMA  INTO  A  DOCTRINE 

CONCERNING  SIN,  GRACE  AND  THE  MEANS  OF  GRACE 

UPON  THE  BASIS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


Chapter 
Chapter 

Chapter 

Chapter 

I. 
II. 

III. 
IV. 

Chapter 


326 


I. — Historical  Survey    ...... 

II. — Occidental  Christianity  and  Occidental  The- 
ologians before  Augustine      ..... 

III. — The  World-Historical  Position  of  Augustine 
as  Reformer  of  Christian  Piety      .... 

IV. — The  World- Historical  Position   of   Augus- 
tine as  Teacher  of  the  Church        .... 

Augustine's  Doctrine  of  tlie  First  and  Last  Things  345 
The  Donatist  Contest.      The  Work  "DeCivitate 
Dei."    The  Doctrine  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
Means  of  Grace       ...... 

The  Pelagian  Contest.      Doctrine  of  Grace  and 

of  Sin 

Augustine's    Exposition    of    the    Symbol.     The 
New  Doctrine  of  Religion      .... 
V. — History  of  Dogma  in  the  Occident  till  the 
Beginning  of  tlio  Middle  Ages  (430-G04) 


329 


335 


342 


354 


363 


376 


382 


% 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


PAOE 


300 

305 
318 


I.  Contest  between  Semi-PelaKiauisiuaiul  Au^ustini- 

anisni      ......... 

II.  Gregory  tlie  (Jreat  (oOO-GOi) 

Chapter  VI. — History  of  Do^nia  iu  the  Tinu'  of  tin*  Carlo- 

vingiuu  Ki'iuiissancf       ...... 

I.  A.  The  Adoption  Controversy         .... 

I.  B.  The  I'retlentination  Controversy 

II.  Controversy  about  thi;  Filiocjue  and  about  Images  3!»7 

III.  The  Development,  in  Practice  and   in  Theory,  of 

tlieMass  (Dogma  of  the  Eucharist) and  of  Penanci; 

Chapter  VII. — History  of  Dogma  in  the  Time  of  Clugny, 

Ansehn    and    Bernard  to  the    End  of  the   12th 

Century  

I.  The  Revival  of  Piety 

II.   On  the  History  of  Ecclesiastical  Ljiw 
Hi.  The  Revival  t>f  Science     ...... 

IV.  Work  upon  the  Dogma     ...... 

A.  The  Berengar  Controversy 

B.  Anselm's  Doctrine  of  Satisfaction  and  tin;  Doc- 
trines of  the  Atonement  of  the  Theologians  of  th(> 
12th  Century 

Chapter  VIII. — History  of  Dogma  in  the  Time  of  the  INIen 
dicant    Orders   till  the    Beginning  ul    th(i   10th 

Century  

I.  On  the  History  of  Piety 

II.  On  the  History  of  Ecclesiastical  Law.     The  Doc- 
trine of  the  Church  ...... 

III.  On  the  History  of  Ecclesiastical  Science 

IV.  The  Remiuting  of  Dogmatics  into  Scholastics 

A.  The  "Working  Over  of  the  Traditional  Articuli 
Fidei        

B.  The  Scholastic  Doctrine  of  the  Saciaments  . 

C.  The  Revising  of  Augustinianism  in  the  Direction 

of  the  Doctrine  of  Meritorious  Works    .         .         .  488 


383 

887 

393 

31)1 
3!>r) 


399 


406 
407 
412 
414 
422 
423 


427 


433 
434 

442 
452 
40  L 

462 
468 


Book  HI. 

THE  THREE-FOLD  ISSUING   OF  THE   IIISTOKV   OF   DOOMA. 

Chapter  I.— Historical  rUu-vcy .",01 

Chapter  II. — The   Issuiiig  of  the  Dogma  in  Roman    Ca 

tholicism 510 


xii 


CONTENTS 


I.  <^'odification  of  tliP  \f«,i- 

tion  to  I'ro  J.a'  i  *^Sn?"'J;-s  i.,  Opp,.,. 

II-  Post-Tridenfino  D,.vJta„nlt       '^  '^"'«>»>    ■        ■ 
the  Vatican  Couiioi     '      "'"'  "  P'-^^Paration  for 
,"';"'« Vatican  Council        '       '        '        •        ■       . 

CImptcr  III. -Tl,o  Issuing  of  thon„'        ■  •        ■ 

nanisn,  „„„  Soc-in^i:!!",    "'"""  '»  ^""-THnita. 

I.  I  ,»tor,caUnt,,,„uctio„    .         '        '        '        •        . 

Cl-apterV^r? ''-'"-     ■.•;••        '  "''' 

„I.  Int..,;,U.rtL'^""-«'""-I'"*,-ain  Protostanti.ni  5« 

II,    i"''''"'s  Cliristiaaity       '        '        "        ■        •        .  541 

m-  Luther's  Strictures  on  the  Domi  '  r    '        '        '  «■' 

Luther's  ChrtliZ>  ^'^'"■""' -".  and  within      ' 


rAOK 

510 

518 
527 

529 
52D 
535 


PAriK 

in  Opposi- 

-GH)    .         .510 

aration  for 

.  518 
.  527 

ti-Trinita- 

.  529 
.  529 
.  535 
estantism  541 
.  541 
.  545 
Ecclesi- 

.  551 
d  within 

.  557 


OUTLINES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  DOGMA. 


PROLEGOMENA  TO  THE   DISCIPLINE. 

I. — Idea  and  Aim  of  the  History  of  Docjma. 

1.  Religion  is  a  practical  aiYair  with  mankind,    KfiiRion. 
since  it  has  to  do  with  our  highest  happiness  and 

with  those  faculties  which  pertain  to  a  holy  life. 
But  in  every  religion  these  faculties  are  closely  con- 
nected with  some  definite  faith  or  with  some  defi- 
nite cult,  which  are  referred  back  to  Divine  Reve- 
lation. Christianity  is  that  religion  in  which  the 
impulse  and  power  to  a  blessed  and  holy  life  is  bound 
up  with  faith  in  God  as  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ. 
So  far  as  this  God  is  believed  to  be  the  omni intent 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Christian  religion 
includes  a  particular  knoirledge  of  God,  of  the  world 
and  of  the  purpose  of  created  things;  so  far,  how- 
ever, as  this  religion  teaches  that  God  can  bo  truly 
known  only  in  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  inseparable  from 
historical  knowledge. 

2.  The   inclination   to   formulate   the  content  of  "'^^^^^Ith  "^ 
religion  in  Articles  of  Faith  is  as  natural  to  Chris- 
tianity as  the  effort   to   veriffj  these  articles  with 
reference  to  science  and  to  history.     On  the  other 


a 


OUTLINES   Oi^   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


rrnldcin 
Insoluble. 


Attompts 
at       Solu- 
tion. 


hand  the  un^^crsal  and  supornatural  character  of  tho 
Cliristian  religion  imposes  upon  its  adherents  tho 
duty  of  finding  a  statement  of  it  which  will  not  bo 
impaired  by  our  wavering  knowledge  of  nature  and 
history;  and,  indeed,  which  will  be  able  to  maintain 
itself  before  every  possible  theory  of  nature  or  of 
history.  The  problem  which  thus  arises  permits, 
indeed,  of  no  absolute  solution,  since  all  knowledge 
is  relative ;  and  yet  religion  essays  to  bring  her  ab- 
solute truth  into  the  sphere  of  relative  knowledge 
and  to  reduce  it  to  statement  there.  But  history 
teaches,  and  every  thinking  Christian  testifies,  that 
the  problem  does  not  come  to  its  solution ;  even  on 
that  account  the  j^rcxjressivc  efforts  which  have 
been  made  to  solve  it  are  of  value. 

3.  The  most  thorough-going  attempt  at  solution 
hitherto  is  that  which  the  Catlujlic  Church  made, 
and  which  the  churches  of  the  Reformation  (with 
more  or  less  restrictions)  have  continued  to  make, 
viz. :  Accepting  a  collection  of  Christian  and  Pre- 
Christian  writings  and  oral  traditions  as  of  Divine 
origin,  to  deduce  from  them  a  system  of  doctrine, 
arranged  in  scientific  form  for  apologetic  purposes, 
which  should  have  as  its  content  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  of  tho  world  and  of  the  means  of  salvation ; 
then  to  proclaim  this  complex  system  {of  dogma) 
as  the  compendium  of  Christianity,  to  demand  of 
every  mature  member  of  the  Church  a  faithfid  ac- 
ceptance of  it,  and  at  the  same  time  to  maintain  tlmt 
the  same  is  a  necessary  preparation  for  the  blessed- 


PROLEGOMENA. 


i 
I 


ness  promised  by  the  religion.  With  this  augmen- 
tation the  Christian  brotherhood,  whose  character 
as  "  Catholic  Church  "  is  essentially  indicated  under 
this  conception  of  Christianity,  took  a  definite  and, 
as  was  sui)posed,  incontestable  attitude  toward  the 
science  of  nature  and  of  history,  expressed  its  relig- 
ious faith  in  God  and  Christ,  and  yet  gave  (inas- 
much as  it  retpiired  of  all  its  members  an  acceptance 
of  these  articles  of  faith)  to  the  thinking  part  of  the 
community  a  system  which  is  capable  of  a  wider  and 
indeed  boundless  development.  Thus  arose  dog- 
in  afic  CJi ristia n itij. 

4.  The  aim  of  the  hisfonj  of  docjtiia  is,  (1)  To  ex- 
plain the  origin  of  this  dogmatic  Christianity,  and, 
(v>)  To  describe  its  development. 

5.  The  historij  of  the  rise  of  dogmatic  Christian- 
ity would  seem  to  close  when  a  well- formulated  sys- 
tem of  belief  had  been  established  by  scientific 
means,  and  had  been  made  the  ^'  articulus  const itn- 
tiviis  ccclesirv,^^  and  as  such  had  been  imposed  upon 
the  entire  Church.  This  took  place  in  the  transition 
from  the  lUl  to  the  411i  century  when  the  Logos- 
Christology  was  established.  The  development  of 
dogma  is  in  ahstnicto  without  limit,  but  in  cou- 
creto  it  has  come  to  an  end.  For,  (a)  the  Greek 
Church  maintains  that  its  system  of  dogma  has  been 
complete  since  the  end  of  the  "  Im.'ige  Controversy  " ; 
(b)  the  Roman,  Catholic  Church  leaves  the  ix^ssi])il- 
it}'  of  the  formulating  of  new  dogmas  open,  Ijut  in 
the  Tridentine  Council  and  still  more  in  the  Vatican 


Aim  of 
History  of 


Rise    of 
Do(;iiia. 


Dovelop- 
niont    of 


Oroek 
Church. 


Roman 
Otiirch. 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 


Evangel- 
ical 
Churches. 


has  it  in  fact  on  political  grounds  rounded  out  its 
dogma  as  a  legal  system  which  above  all  demands 
obedience  and  only  secondarily  conscious  faith ;  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  has  consecjuently  abandoned 
the  original  motive  of  dogmatic  Christianity  and 
has  placed  a  wholly  new  motive  in  its  stead,  retain- 
ing the  mere  semblance  of  the  old ;  (c)  The  Evan- 
gelical churches  have,  on  the  one  hand,  accepted  a 
greater  part  of  the  formulated  doctrines  of  dogmatic 
Christianity  and  seek  to  ground  them,  like  the  Cath- 
olic Church,  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  took  a  different  view  of  the  author- 
ity of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  put  aside  tradition 
as  a  source  in  matters  of  belief,  they  (questioned  the 
significance  of  the  empirical  Church  as  regards  the 
dogma,  and  above  all  they  tried  to  put  forwartl  a 
formulation  of  the  Christian  religion,  which  goes 
directly  back  to  the  "true  understanding  of  the 
Word  of  God."  Thus  in  principle  the  ancient  dog- 
matic conception  of  Christianity  was  set  aside,  while 
however  in  certain  matters  no  fixed  attitude  was 
taken  toward  the  same  and  reactions  began  at  once 
and  still  continue.  Therefore  is  it  announced  that 
protestan?  *^^^  history  of  Protcstaut  doctrine  will  bo  excluded 
Exduded.  from  the  history  of  dogma,  and  within  the  foniier 
will  be  indicated  only  the  position  of  the  Reformers 
and  of  the  churches  of  the  Reformation,  out  of  which 
the  later  complicated  development  grew.  Hence  the 
history  of  dogma  can  be  treated  as  relatively  a  com- 
pleted discipline. 


PROLEGOMENA. 


5 


uot     KxjMt- 

sitioii    of 

CliiiHtiau 

K»'v«*lu- 

tloa. 


C.  The  claim  of  tho  Cliuivh  that  the  dogmas  are 
simply  the  exposition  of  the  Christian  revelation, 
because  dedueed  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is  not 
confirmed  by  historical  investigation.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  becomes  clear  that  dogmatic  Christianity 
(the  dogmas)  in  its  conception  and  in  its  construc- 
tion was  ilie  work  of  the  Hellenic  sjririf  Kpnn  the 
Gospel  soil.  The  intellectual  medium  by  which  in 
early  times  men  sought  to  make  the  Gospel  compre- 
hensible and  to  establish  it  securely,  became  insep- 
arably blended  with  the  content  of  tlio  same.  Thus 
arose  the  dogma,  in  whose  formation,  to  be  sure, 
other  factors  (the  words  of  Sacred  Scripture,  re  juire- 
ments  of  the  cult,  and  of  the  organization,  political 
and  social  environment,  the  impulse  to  push  things 
to  their  logical  consequences,  blind  custom,  etc.) 
played  a  part,  yet  so  that  the  desire  and  effort  to 
formulate  the  main  principles  of  the  Christian  re- 
demption, and  to  explain  and  develop  them,  secured 
the  upper  hand,  at  least  in  the  earlier  times. 

7.  Just  as  the  formulating  of  the  dogma  proved  to  Jyy*t,?jfJ[ 
be  an  illusion,  so  far  as  the  same  was  to  be  the  pure 
exposition  of  the  Gospel,  so  also  does  historical  inves- 
tigation destroy  the  other  illusion  ci  the  Church, 
viz. :  that  the  dogma,  always  having  been  the  same 
therein,  have  simply  been  explained,  and  that  eccle- 
siastical theology  has  never  had  any  other  aim  than 
to  explain  the  unchanging  dogma  and  to  refute  the 
heretical  teaching  pressing  in  from  without.  The 
formulating  of  the  dogma  indicates  rather  that  the- 


»'d  the 
Dogma. 


Aiijnistinc 
l.iillu'r. 


I    ! 

11         (    > 


0 


OUTLTNKS   OK   TIIK    HISTORY    OF    DOCJMA. 


olngy  corirttrucU'd  llic  dogma,  Imt  that  the  Church 
must  over  conceal  the  lahor  of  the  thi\)logiaiiH, 
wliicli  thus  i)hiceH  them  in  an  unfortunate  jtliglit. 
In  each  favoraUe  case  the  result  of  their  lahor  has 
been  declared  to  be  a  reproduction  and  they  them- 
selves luive  been  robl)ed  of  their  best  service;  as  a 
rule  in  the  progress  of  histt)ry  they  fell  under  the 
condemnation  of  the  dogmatic  scheme,  whose  foun- 
dation they  themselves  had  laid,  and  so  entire  ge?UT- 
rations  of  theologians,  as  well  as  the  chief  leadtis 
thereof,  have,  in  the  further  development  of  dogma, 
been  afterwards  marked  and  declared  to  be  heretics 
or  held  in  suspicion.  Dogma  has  ever  in  the  prog- 
ress of  history  devoured  its  own  progenitors. 

8.  Although  dogmatic  Christianity  has  never,  in 
the  process  of  its  develoi)ment,  lost  its  original  style 
and  character  as  a  work  of  the  spirit  of  perishing 
anti(puty  upon  Gospel  soil  (stfjle  of  the  Greek 
apoloijists  and  of  Origiu),  yet  it  experienced  first 
through  Augustine  and  later  through  Luther  a 
deeper  and  more  thorough  transformation.  Both  of 
these  men,  the  latter  more  than  the  former,  cham- 
pioned a  new  and  more  evangelical  conception  of 
Christianity,  guided  chiefly  by  Paulinism;  Augus- 
tine however  hardly  attempted  a  revision  of  the  tra- 
ditional dogma,  rather  did  he  co-ordinate  the  old  and 
the  new;  Luther,  indeed,  attempted  it,  but  did  not 
carry  it  through.  The  Christian  quality  of  the 
dogma  gained  through  the  influence  of  each,  and  the 
old  traditional  system  of  dogma  was  relaxed  some- 


niOLECiOMENA. 


what — this  was  so  much  llio  cjisc  in  Protostantisin 
that  one  dix'S  well,  as  ivinarkod  ahovo,  no  l(>ngi»r  to 
consider  the  syniholical  teaching  of  the  Protestant 
churches  as  wholly  a  recasting  of  the  old  dogma. 

!>.  An    understanding   of    the   dogmatico-historic  ivri(xis  in 

"  ^  °  History    nf 

process  cannot  be  se(  ired  by  isolating  the  special  L)^k"»" 
doctrines  and  considering  them  sei)arately  (8|)ecial 
History  of  Dogma)  after  that  the  epochs  have  been 
previously  characterized  (General  History  of  I)(^gma) . 
It  is  much  better  to  consider  the  "  general "  and  the 
"  special "  in  each  period  and  to  treat  the  periods  sep- 
arately, and  as  much  as  possible  to  prove  the  special 
doctrines  to  be  the  outcome  of  the  fundamental  idejus 
and  motives.  It  is  not  possible,  however,  to  mako 
more  than  four  principal  divisions,  viz. :  I.  The  Ori- 
gin of  Dogma.  II.  a.  The  Development  of  Dogma 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  its  original  con- 
ception (Oriental  Development  from  Arianism  to  the 
Image-Controversy).  II.  b.  The  O  lental  Devel- 
opment of  Dogma  under  the  influence  of  Augustine's 
Christianity  and  the  Roman  papal  politics.  II.  c. 
The  Three-fold  Issuing  of  Dogma  (in  the  churches 
of  the  Reformation — in  Tridentine  Catholicism — and 
in  the  criticism  of  the  rationalistic  age,  i.e.,  of  So- 
cinianism) . 

10.  The  history  of  dogma,  in  that  it  sets  forth  the    value  of 
process  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the  dogma, 
offers  the  very  best  means  and  methods  of  freeing 
the  Church  from  dogmatic  Christianity,  and  of  hast- 
ening tiie  inevitable  process  of  emancipation,  which 


8 


Ol'TLINKH   OF   TIIK    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


began  with  AuguHtim;.  But  tlio  hi.stoiy  of  dogma 
teHtifies  also  to  tho  unity  and  continuity  of  tho 
Christian  faith  in  tho  progress  of  its  history,  in  so 
far  as  it  proves  that  certain  fundamental  ideas  of  tlio 
Gospel  have  never  been  lost  and  ha.ve  defied  all 
attacks. 


II.— History  of  the  History  of  Dogma. 


MoHhelm, 

etc. 


li! 


Baronlus, 

ftL-. 


Luther, 
etc. 


Erasmus, 
etc. 


Benedic- 
tine, etc. 


Gottfried 
Arnold. 


The  narrative  of  the  History  of  Dogma  begins  first 
in  the  18th  century  with  Mosheim,  Walch,  Ernesti, 
Lessing,  and  Semler,  since  Catholicism  in  general  is 
not  fitted  for  a  critical  handling  of  the  subject,  al- 
though learned  works  have  been  written  by  individ- 
ual Catholic  theologians  (Baronius  Bellarmin,  Peta- 
vius,  Thomassin,  Kulm,  Schwane,  Bach,  etc.),  and 
since  the  Protestant  churches  remained  until  the 
18th  century  under  the  ban  of  confessionalism,  al- 
though important  contributions  were  made  in  the 
time  of  the  Reformation  (Luther,  Okolampad,  Mel- 
anchthon,  Flacius,  Hyperius,  Chemnitz)  to  the  criti- 
cal treatment  of  the  History  of  Dogma,  based  in  part 
upon  the  labors  of  the  critically  disposed  humanists 
(L.  Valla;  Erasmus,  etc.).  But  without  the  learned 
material,  which,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Benedictine 
and  other  Orders  had  gathered  together,  and,  on  the 
other,  the  Protestant  Casaubonus,  Vossius,  Pearson, 
Dallaus,  Spanheim,  Grabe,  Basnage,  etc.,  and  with- 
out the  grand  impulse  which  pietism  gave  (Gott- 
fried Arnold),  the  work  of  the  18th  century  would 


PROLEGOMENA. 


9 


have  been  iuconsi«loral)lo.  Kaiiunalism  robbed  tlio 
history  of  dogma  of  its  ecclesitiHtical  interest  and 
gave  it  over  to  a  critical  troatnKMit  in  which  its 
darkness  was  liglitod  np  in  part  by  the  hunp  of 
connnon  nnderstanding  and  in  part  by  the  torch 
of  general  historical  contcnii)lation  (first  History  of 
Dogma  by  Langc,  ITi^O,  previous  works  by  Sond(»r, 
H()ssler,  Loffler,  etc.,  then  the  History  of  Dogma 
by  Miinscher,  Handb.  4  Bdd.  1T!>7  f.,  an  excellent 
Lehrbnch,  1.  Aufl.  IS  11,  'A.  Antl.  1S:5^,  :M (inter 
2  Bdd.  1S()2  f,  StJiudlin  ISOO  and  l^'l'l,  Augusti 
1805  and  1S:)0,  Gieseler,  edited  l)y  Redepenning  2 
Bdd.  1855).  The  valuable  handbooks  of  Baumgar- 
ton-Crusius  18:52,  i.e.  1840  and  1840,  and  of  Meier 
1840,  i.e.  1854,  mark  the  transition  to  a  class  of 
works  in  which  an  inner  understanding  of  the  pro- 
cess of  the  History  of  Dogma  has  been  won,  for 
which  Lessing  had  already  striven,  and  for  which 
Herder,  Schleiermacher  and  the  Romanticists  on  the 
one  side,  and  Hegel  and  Schelling  on  the  other,  had 
prepared  the  way.  Epoch-making  were  the  writings 
of  F.  Chr.  Baur  (Lehrb.  1847,  i.e.  1807,  Vorles. 
3.  Thl.  1805  f.),  in  which  the  dogmati co-historic 
process,  conceived  to  be  sure  in  a  one-sided  way, 
was,  so  to  speak,  lived  over  again  (cf .  also  Strauss, 
Glaubenslehre  2  Bdd.  1840  f.  Marheineke  1840). 
From  the  Schleiermacher  point  of  view,  is  Neander 
(2.  Thl.  1857)  and  Hagenbach  (1840,  i.e.  1807). 
Dorner  (History  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Person  of 
Christ,  1839  i.e.  1845-53)  attempted  to  unite  Hegel 


Lango. 


MllLwlior. 


Iiauiiii;nr- 
t<'ii-Cru- 

KillS. 


Herder, 

Schleier- 

inucher, 

Heijel, 

Scbelling. 


Baur. 


Neander. 


Domer. 


If! 


NiUHch. 


10 


OUTLINKM   OF  THE    FII8TORY   OF   DOOMA. 


and  S('lil<'i(MiuHclHT.  From  tli<»  Liithcraii  Confc'H- 
Hioiial  standpoint  Klicfotli  (Kinl.  in  d.  D.  (I.  l.s;;:>), 
TlioinasiuH  ("i  Hdd.  isTt  f.  and  lss7  edited  by  Bon- 
wetsch  1  l^d.),  Hdiniid  (isrj'.l  i.v.  1SH7  od.  l)y  llauck) 
and,  with  reservations,  Kahnis  (The  Faith  of  the 
Clinreh,  1S(;4).  A  marked  [idvanco  is  indieated  in 
the  History  of  Dogma  by  Niizsch  (I  Bd.  ISTo).  For 
a  correct  understanding  esiK»cially  of  the  origin  of 
dogma  the  hibors  of  Rothe,  Ritschl,  Ronan,  Over- 
beek,  v.  Engeliiardt,  Weizaiicker  and  Reville  are 
valuabk\ 


Oospcl  is 
.It'siis 
Cliiist. 


PRESUPPOSITIONS   OF  THE   HISTORY 

OF  DOGMA. 

III.— Introductory. 

1.  The  gosp{»l  appeared  in  the  "fulness  of  time." 
And  t]>e  Gospel  is  Jesus  Christ.  In  these  sentences 
the  announcement  is  made  that  the  Gospel  is  the 
climax  of  an  universal  development  and  yet  that  it 
has  its  power  in  a  personal  Life.  Jesus  Christ  "  de- 
stroyed not,"  but  "fulfilled."  Ho  witnessed  a  new 
life  before  God  and  in  God,  but  within  the  confines 
of  Judaism,  and  upon  the  soil  of  the  Old  Testament 
whose  hidden  treasures  he  uncovered.  It  can  be 
shown,  that  everything  that  is  "  lofty  and  spiritual " 
in  the  Psalms  and  Prophets,  and  everything  that  had 
been  gained  through  the  development  of  Grecian 
ethics,  is  reaffirmed  in  the  plain  and  simple  Gospel ; 
but  it  obtained  its  power  there,  because  it  became 


m 


PKOliKCJoMKNA. 


u 


^ 


I: 


1 


lifi' ami  (Iced  in  a  I'rr.son,  wljosr  j^rcatiioss  coiisiHts 
also  in  this,  that  ho  did  not  remould  Ids  oartldv  en- 
vironnicnl,  nor  encounter  any  suhsetjuent  rehutV, — 
in  other  words,  that  he  did  not  iHconie  entangled  in 
his  times. 

'^.  Two  L'enerat ions  lati'r  there  I'xisted,  to  be  sure,     •'•"'/"'I'T- 

"  '  '      ati'il  Cull- 

no  united  and  liomoj^eneous  Clinrc/i,  hut  there  ^■'"'^^''^"""''• 
wore  Hcattorud  througliout  the  wide  Roman  empire 
ronf(>derated  congregations  of  Christian  l)elieverH 
(churehes)  who,  for  the  most  l)art,  were  (Jentile- 
horn  and  condennied  the  Jewish  nation  and  religion 
as  apostate;  thoy  apju'opriated  tlu;  Old  Testament  as 
theirs  by  right  and  considered  themselves  a  "new 
nation",  and  yet  as  the  " ancient  creation  of  (iod", 
while  in  all  departments  of  life  and  thought  certain 
sacred  forms  were  graduallj'  l)eing  i)ut  forward. 
The  existence  of  these  confedt^rated  Cientile  Christian 
comnuuiities  is  the  preliminary  condition  to  the  rise 
of  dogmatic  Christianity. 

The  organization  of  these  churches  began,  indeed,   Frtvin*,'  of 

_  (IllSIM'l 

in  the  apostolic  times  and  their  peculiar  constitution  ''""j'^i;''"" 
is  negatively  indicated  by  the  freeing  of  the  (losi)el 
from  the  Jewish  church.  While  in  Islamism  the 
Arabic  nation  remained  for  centuries  the  main  trunk 
of  the  new  religion,  it  is  an  astonishing  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  Gospel,  that  it  soon  left  its  native  soil 
and  went  forth  into  the  wide  world  and  realized  its 
universal  character,  not  through  the  transformation 
of  the  Jewish  religion,  but  by  developing  into  a 
world-religion  upon  Grceco-RoDian  soil.     The  Oos- 


Cliunli. 


■l  I 


Gospel 

Worlcl-Ri- 

ligiuu. 


Classical 

Epoch  of 

Gospel 

History. 


Paul's  Mis- 
sion. 


No  Chasm 

Between 

EarliLT 

Epoch  and 

Succeeding 

Periotl. 


12 


OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


pel  became  a  workl-reliqion  in  thnf^  having  a 
messiuje  for  all  mankind^  it  preached  it  to  Greek 
and  barbarian^  and  accordingly  attached  itself 
to  the  spiritual  and  political  life  of  the  world- 
wide Roman  enqyire. 

3.  Since  the  Gospel  in  its  original  form  was  Jew- 
ish and  was  preached  only  to  the  Jews,  there  lay  in 
this  transition,  which  was  brought  about,  in  part 
gradually  and  without  disturbance,  and  in  part 
through  a  severe  crisis,  conseciuences  of  the  most 
stringent  kind.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  history 
of  the  Church  and  of  dogma,  the  brief  history  of  the 
Gospel  within  the  bounds  of  Palestinian  Judaism  is 
accordingly  a  paloontclogical  epoch.  And  yet  this 
remains  the  classical  epochs  not  only  on  account  of 
the  Founder  and  of  the  original  testimony,  but  quite 
as  much  because  a  Jewish  Christian  (Paul)  recog- 
nized the  Gospel  as  the  power  of  God,  which  was 
able  to  save  both  Jew  and  Greek,  and  because  he 
designedly  severed  the  Gospel  from  the  Jewish  na- 
tional religion  and  proclaimed  the  Christ  as  the  end 
of  the  Law.  Then  other  Jewish  Christians,  personal 
disciples  of  Jesus,  indeed,  followed  him  in  all  this 
(see  also  the  4th  Gospel  and  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews) . 

Yet  there  is  in  reality  no  chasm  between  the  older 
brief  epoch  and  the  succeeding  period,  so  far  as  the 
Gospel  is  in  itself  universalistic,  and  this  character 
very  soon  became  manifest.  But  the  means  by 
which  Paul  and  his  sympathizers  set  forth  the  uni- 


A. 


PROLErJOMENA. 


13 


iving  a 

3  Greek 

d  itself 

world- 

as  Jew- 
3  lay  in 
in  part 
in  part 
le  most 
history 
7  of  the 
iiism  is 
'et  this 
Dunt  of 
t  quite 
recog- 

1  was 
use  he 
sh  na- 
le  end 
rsonal 
11  this 

o  the 

older 
IS  the 
acter 

by 

B  uni- 


Oentilo 

Chiiroh  (iid 

not  C'oni- 


versal  character  of  the  Gospel  (j  roving  that  the  Old 
Testament  religion  had  been  fulfilled  and  done  away 
with)  was  little  understood,  and,  vice  versa^  the 
manner  and  means  by  which  the  Gentile  Christians 
came  to  an  acceptance  of  the  Gospel,  can  only  in 
part  be  attributed  to  the  preaching  of  Paul  So  far 
as  we  now  possess  in  the  New  Testament  substan- 
tial writings  in  which  the  Gospel  is  so  thoroughly 
thought  out  that  it  is  prized  as  the  supplanter  oi  the 
Old  Testament  religion,  and  writings  which  at  the 
same  time  are  not  deeply  touched  with  the  Greek 
spirit,  does  this  literature  differ  radically  from  all 
that  follows. 

4.  The  growing  Gentile  Church,  notwithstanding 
Paul's  significant  relation  toward  it,  did  not  com-  prehend 
prehend,  nor  really  experience  the  crisis,  out  of  problem, 
which  the  Pauline  conception  of  the  Gospel  arose. 
In  the  Jewish  propaganda,  within  which  the  Old 
Testament  had  long  since  become  liberalized  and 
spiritualized,  the  Gentile  Church,  entering  and  grad- 
ually subjecting  the  same  to  itself,  seldom  felt  the 
problem  of  the  reconciliation  of  the  Old  Testament 
with  the  Gospel,  since  by  means  of  the  allegorical 
method  the  propaganda  had  freed  themselves  from 
the  letter  of  the  law,  but  had  not  entirely-  overcome 
its  spirit;  indeed  they  had  simply  cast  off  their 
national  character.  Moved  by  the  hostile  power  of 
the  Jews  and  later  also  of  the  Gentiles  and  by  the 
consciousness  of  inherent  strength  to  organize  a 
"  people  "  for  itself,  the  Church  as  a  matter  of  course 


14 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


'  •- 


fi.'ntilf 

Chiirclirrt 

Kt'taii;i(l 

Many 

Pilt'stiiiian 

Cliaractcr- 

istics. 


TTistiiry  of 

l)<);,'ma  has 

to  ilti  witli 

(iciitilc 

Chtirc'li 

Only. 


took  on  the  form  of  the  thought  and  life  of  the  world 
in  which  it  lived,  casting  aside  everything  polythe- 
istic, immoral  and  vulgar.  Thus  arose  the  new  or- 
ganizations, which  with  all  their  newness  bore  testi- 
mony to  their  kinship  with  the  original  Palestinian 
churches,  in  so  far  as,  (1)  the  Old  Testament  was 
likewise  recognized  as  a  primitive  revelation,  and 
in  so  far  as,  (2)  the  strong  spiritual  monotheism,  {'.)) 
the  outlines  of  the  proclamation  concerning  Jesus 
Christ,  (4)  the  consciousness  of  a  direct  and  living 
fellowship  with  God  through  the  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
(5)  the  expectation  of  the  approaching  iJid  of  the 
world,  and  the  earnest  conviction  of  the  personal 
responsibility  and  accountability  of  each  individual 
soul  were  all  likewise  maintained.  To  these  is  to 
be  added  finally,  that  the  earliest  Jewish-Christian 
proclamation,  yes,  the  Gospel  itself,  bears  the  stamp 
of  the  spiritual  epochs,  out  of  which  it  arose, — of  the 
Hellenic  age,  in  which  the  nations  exchanged  their 
wares  and  religions  were  transformed,  and  the  idea 
of  the  worth  and  accountability  of  every  soul  became 
widespread;  so  that  the  Hellenism  which  soon 
pressed  so  mightily  into  the  Church  was  not  abso- 
lutely strange  and  new. 

5.  The  history  of  dogma  has  to  do  with  the  Gen- 
tile Church  only — the  history  of  theology  begins,  it 
is  true,  with  Paul — ,  but  in  order  to  understand  his- 
torically the  basis  of  the  formation  of  doctrine  in  the 
Gentile  Church,  it  must  take  into  consideration,  as 
already  stated,   the  following  as  antecedent  condi- 


I'KOLEGOMENA. 


Uy 


tions:  (1)  TJw  Gospel  of  Jcsiis  Christ,  (2)  The  rr.'snpi><>- 
general  and  sinuilfaneons  jyt'odamation  of  Jesns 
Christ  in  the  first  generation  of  believers,  {'■])  The 
eurrent  understanding  and  exposition  of  tJie  Old 
Testament  and  the  Jewish  anticipations  of  the  fu- 
ture andtheir  speculations,  (4)  The  religious  con- 
ceptions and  the  religious  philosophy  of  the  Hel- 
lenistic Jews,  (5)  The  religious  attitfide  of  the 
Greeks  and,  Bomans  during  the  first  two  centu- 
ries, and  the  current  Grceco-Eonian  philosophy 
of  religion. 


Gen- 
Ins,  it 
ll  his- 
In  the 
|n,  as 

mdi- 


of  KinK- 

(loin  of 

God. 


IV.— The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  according 
TO  His  Own  Testimony. 

The  Gospel  is  the  good  news  of  the  reign  of  the  JI'^^I^'^^J^.^ 
Ahnighty  and  Holy  God,  the  Father  and  Judge  of 
the  world  and  of  each  individual  soul.  In  this  rtn'gn, 
which  makes  men  citizens  of  the  heavenly  kingdom 
and  gives  them  to  realize  their  citizenship  in  the  ap- 
proaching eon,  the  life  of  every  man  who  gives  him- 
self to  God  is  secure,  even  if  he  should  immediately 
lose  the  world  and  his  earthly  life;  while  those 
who  seek  to  win  the  world  and  to  keep  their  life  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  Judge,  who  condemns  them  to 
hell.  This  reign  of  God,  in  that  it  rises  ahove  all 
ceremonies  and  statutes,  places  men  under  a  la?r, 
which  is  old  and  yet  new,  viz. :  Whole-hearted  lore 
to  God  and  to  one's  neighbor.  In  this  love,  wher- 
ever it  controls  the  thoughts  in  their  deepest  springs, 
that  better  Justice  is  exemplified  which  corresponds 


T  ovf  to 

(ioi!  and 

Man. 


i\ 


16 


OUTLINES   OP   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


to  the  perfection  of  God.  The  way  to  secure  this 
righteousness  is  by  a  change  of  hearty  i.e.  by  self- 
denial  and  humility  before  God  and  a  heart-felt 
trust  in  him.  In  such  humility  and  trust  in  God 
the  soul  realizes  its  own  unworthiness.  The  Gospel, 
however,  calls  even  sinners,  who  are  so  disposed, 
unto  the  kingdom  of  God,  in  that  it  assures  them 
satisfaction  with  his  justice,  i.e.,  guarantees  them 
the  forgiveness  of  the  sins  which  have  hitherto 
separated  them  from  God.  In  the  three-fold  form, 
however,  in  which  the  Gospel  is  set  forth,  (God's 
^'vrv^fSv'  sovereignty,  higher  justice  [law  of  love]  and  for- 
L.m%^For-  givcuess  of  siu)  it  is  inseparably  connected  with 
Sin.  Jesus  Christ.  For  in  the  proclamation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, Jesus  Christ  everywhere  called  men  unto  him- 
self. In  him  is  the  Gospel  icorcl  and  deed;  it  is 
his  meat  and  drink  and,  therefore,  is  it  become  his 
personal  life,  and  into  this  life  he  would  draw  all 
men.  He  is  the  Son,  who  knows  the  Father.  Men 
should  see  in  him  how  kind  the  Lord  is;  in  him 
they  may  experience  the  power  and  sovereignty  of 
God  over  the  world  and  be  comforted  in  this  trust ; 
him,  the  meek  and  gentle-hearted  One,  should  they 
follow ;  and  inasmuch  as  he,  the  holy  and  pure  One, 
calls  sinners  unto  himself,  they  should  be  fully  as- 
sured that  God  through  him  forgives  sin. 

This  close  connection  of  his  Gospel  with  his  per- 
son, Jesus  by  no  means  made  prominent  in  words, 
but  left  his  disciples  to  experience  it.  He  called 
himself  the  Son  of  Man  and  led  them  on  to  the  jon- 


TfOspcl 

Word  and 

Divd  in 

Jesus. 


1 


1 


lA. 

euro  this 

.  by  self- 

leart-felt 

in  God 

)  Gospel, 

lisposed, 

•es  them 

es  them 

hitherto 

d  form, 

,  (God's 

md  for- 

3d  with 

he  Gos- 

to  him- 

Ij   it  is 

>me  his 

raw  all 

Men 

:n  him 

nty  of 

trust ; 

i  they 

3  One, 

ly  as- 

per- 
ords, 
called 

jon- 


PROLEGOMKNA. 


17 


fession    that    he  was  their  Master   and    Messiah.  Jfsua  Mes- 
siah. 

Thereby  he  gave  to  his  lasting  significance  for  them 
and  for  his  people  a  comprehensible  expression,  and 
at  the  close  of  his  life,  in  an  hour  of  great  solemnity, 
he  said  to  them  that  his  death  also  like  his  life  was 
an  imperishable  service  which  he  rendered  to  the 
"many"  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  By  this  ho 
raised  himself  above  the  plane  of  all  others,  although 
they  may  already  be  his  brethren ;  he  claimed  for 
himself  an  unique  significance  as  the  Redeemer  and  Rwipj^mer, 
as  the  Judge ;  for  he  interpreted  his  death,  like  all 
his  suffering,  as  a  triumph,  as  the  transition  to  his 
cjlorij,  and  he  proved  his  power  by  actually  awaken- 
ing in  his  disciples  the  conviction  that  he  still  lives 
and  is  Lord  over  the  dead  and  the  living.  The  re- 
ligion of  the  Gospel  rests  upon  this  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  i.e.  looking  upon  him,  that  historical  Per- 
son, the  believer  is  convinced  that  God  rules  heaven 
and  earth,  and  that  God,  the  Judge,  is  also  Father 
and  Redeemer.  The  religion  of  the  Gospel  is  the  re- 
ligion which  frees  men  from  all  legality,  which,  how- 
ever, at  the  same  time  lays  upon  them  the  highest 
moral  obligations — the  simplest  and  the  severest — 
and  lays  bare  the  contradiction  in  which  every  man 
finds  himself  as  regards  them.  But  it  brings  re- 
demption out  of  such  necessities,  in  that  it  leads 
men  to  the  gracious  God,  leaves  them  in  his  hands, 
and  draws  their  life  into  union  with  the  inexhaustible 
and  blessed  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  overcome 
the  world  and  called  sinners  to  himself. 


Gospel 
Frees  from 
all  Legal- 
ity. 


i     !i 


I  ■    I 


18 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 


Josus  IJis- 
«'n  Lord. 


Way, 

Truth, 

Life. 


Kinp. 


Contont   of 

Disciples' 

IJeliof. 


New 
Chiiivh, 
Tnu'  Is- 
rael. 


V. — The  General  Proclamation  concerning 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  First  Generation  of 
His  Adherents. 

1.  Men  had  learned  to  know  Jesns  Christ  Jind  hud 
found  him  to  bo  the  Messiah.  In  the  first  two  gen- 
erations following  him  everything  was  said  about 
him  which  men  were  in  any  way  able  to  say.  Inas- 
much as  they  knew  him  to  be  the  Risen  One,  they 
exalted  him  as  the  Lord  of  the  world  and  of  history, 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  as  the  Way,  the 
Truth  and  the  Life,  as  the  Prince  of  Life  and  the 
living  Power  of  a  new  existence,  as  the  Contiueror 
of  death  and  the  King  of  a  coming  new  kingdom. 
Although  strong  individual  feeling,  special  experi- 
ence, Scriptural  learning  and  a  fantastic  tendency 
gave  from  the  beginning  a  form  to  the  confession  of 
him,  yet  common  characteristics  of  the  proclamation 
can  be  definitely  pointed  out. 

3.  The  content  of  the  disciples'  belief  and  the  gen- 
eral proclamation  of  it  on  the  ground  of  the  certainty 
of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  can  be  set  forth  as  fol- 
lows :  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  promised  by  the  prophets 
— ho  will  come  again  and  establish  a  visible  king- 
dom,— they  who  believe  on  him  and  surrender  them- 
selves entirely  to  this  belief,  may  fool  assured  of  the 
grace  of  God  and  of  a  share  in  liis  future  glory.  A 
new  community  of  Christian  believers  thus  organized 
itself  within  the  Jewish  nation.  And  this  now  com- 
munity believed  itself  to  be  (he  true  Israel  of  the 


*  . 


X. 


PROLEfJOMEXA. 


10 


JERNING 
nON    OF 

[«ik1  Ijad 
WO  gen- 
ii about 
Inas- 
le,  they 
history, 
''ay,  the 
unci  the 
ntjiieror 
ngdom. 
experi- 
ndoncy 
sion  of 
mation 

le  gen- 

'tainty 

las  fol- 

[ophets 

king- 

them- 

of  the 

A 

mized 

com- 

)f  the 


AssiiriiiiLMi 
of  I)!^!!- 
plrsliii). 


Messianic  times  and  lived,  accordingly,  in  all  their 
thoughts  and  feelings  in  the  future.  Thus  could  all 
the  Jewish  apocalyptic  expectations  retain  their  pow- 
er for  the  time  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  For 
the  fulfilment  of  these  hopes  the  new  community  pos- 
sessed a  guarantee  in  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ, 
as  also  in  the  manifold  manifestations  of  the  Spirit, 
which  were  visible  upon  the  members  upon  their 
entrance  into  the  brother-hood  (from  the  beginning 
this  introduction  seems  to  have  been  accompanied  bv  rosscssion 

^  •        dl'  Spirit, 

bajitism)  and  in  their  gathering  together.  The  pos- 
session of  the  Spirit  was  an  assurance  to  each  indi- 
vidual that  he  was  not  only  a  "  disciple  "  but  also  a 
"called  saint,"  and,  as  such,  a.  priest  and  king  of 
God.  Faith  in  the  God  of  Israel  became  faith  in 
God  the  Father  ;  added  to  this  was  faith  in  Jesus, 
the  Christ  and  Son  of  God,  and  the  witness  of  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  i.e.  of  the  Spirit  of  God  and 
Christ.  In  ihe  strength  of  this  faith  men  lived  in 
the  fear  of  the  Judge  and  in  trust  in  God,  who  had 
already  begun  the  redemption  of  his  own  people. 
The  proclamation  concerning  Jesus,  the  Christ, 
rested  first  of  all  entirely  upon  the  Old  Testament, 
yet  it  had  its  starting-point  in  the  exaltation  of 
Jesus  through  his  resurrection  from  the  dead.  To 
prove  that  the  entire  Old  Testament  pointed  toward 
him,  and  that  his  person,  his  work,  his  fate  were  the 
actual  and  verbal  fulfilment  of  the  Old  Testament 
in-ophecies,  was  the  chief  interest  of  believers,  in  so 
far  as  they  did  not  give  themselves  entirely  to  ex- 


PrcatOiinjj 

Based  Kii- 

tirclv  on 

Old  Tfstii- 

IlU'Ill. 


«! 


I' 


.?i'! 


>lk' 


Specula- 
tion Began 
in  Apostol- 
ic Ages. 


20 


OUTLINES  OP   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


poctations  of  tho  future.  This  roferenco  did  not 
serve  at  once  to  make  clear  the  meaning  and  worth 
of  tho  ]\Iossianic  work — this  it  did  not  seem  to  need 
— but  rather  to  establish  the  Messiah-ship  of  Jesus. 
However,  the  Old  Testament,  as  it  was  then  under- 
stood, gave  occasion,  through  tho  fixing  of  the  per- 
son and  dignity  of  Christ,  for  widening  the  scope 
of  the  thought  of  Israel's  perfected  theocracy.  And, 
in  addition,  faith  in  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  to  the 
right  hand  of  God  caused  men  to  think  of  the  begin- 
ning of  his  existence  in  harmony  therewith.  Then 
the  fact  of  the  successful  Gentile  conversion  threw  a 
new  light  upon  the  scope  of  his  work,  i.e.  upon  its 
significance  for  all  mankind.  And  finally  the  per- 
sonal claims  of  Jesus  led  men  to  reflect  on  his  pecu- 
liar relation  to  God,  the  Father.  On  these  four 
points  speculation  began  already  in  the  apostolic  age 
and  it  went  on  to  formulate  new  statements  concern- 
ing the  person  and  dignity  of  Christ.  In  proclaim- 
ing Jesus  to  be  the  Christ  men  ceased  thereby  to 
proclaim  tho  Gospel,  because  the  -rr^petv  rtdwTa  Una 
iveTeiXazn  6  Ir^nuu'?  was  to  be  included  as  a  matter  of 
course  and  so  did  not  especially  engage  the  thoughts. 
That  this  must  bo  for  the  future  a  questionable 
digression  is  plain  enough;  for  since  everything 
depends  upon  the  appropriation  of  the  Person  of 
Jesus,  it  is  not  possible  for  a  personal  life  to  be 
appropriated  through  opinions  about  the  Person, 
but  only  through  the  record  of  the  concrete  Per- 
sonality. 


\i. 


I'HOLK(;()MKNA. 


21 


'Ta    una 


.5.  U|)on  tho  basis  of  tho  pUiiii  vvordH  of  JesuH  and    A>simiiir.. 
*  *  lit  I' (iif-'i ve- 

in tho  consciousness  of  tho  possession  of  the  Spirit  men   u'i'^M*"  ui- 

were  already  assured  ot  i\  2)n'si'Ht  possesHioii  oi  iha  ii..ii 
forgiveness  of  sin,  of  righteousness  before  God,,  of 
tho  full  knowledge  of  the  Divine  Will  and  of  the  call 
into  the  future  kingdom.  In  tho  acquiring  of  those 
blessings,  surely  not  a  few  realized  tho  consequences 
of  the  first  coming  of  the  Messiah,  i.e.  his  work,  and 
they  referred  especially  the  forgiveness  of  sin  to 
the  death  of  Christ,  and  eternal  life  to  his  resurrec 
tion.  But  no  theories  touching  tho  relation  of  the 
blessings  of  the  Gospel  to  the  history  of  Christ  were 
propounded;  Paul  was  the  first  to  develop  a  theology 
upon  the  basis  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ 
and  to  bring  it  into  relations  with  the  Old  Testa- 
ment religion. 

4.  This  theologj'  was  constructed  in  opposition  to  ^'HJjV'^oT 
the  legalistic  righteousness  of  the  pharisees,  i.e..,  to  i!,'Sii.sVic 
tho  official  religion  of  the  Old  Testament.  While  its 
form  was  thereby  somewhat  conditioned,  its  power 
rested  in  the  certainty  of  tho  new  life  of  tho  Spirit, 
which  the  Risen  One  offered,  who  through  his  death 
overcame  the  world  of  the  flesh  and  of  sin.  With 
the  thought  that  righteousness  comes  through  faith 
in  God  who  raised  Jesus  from  the  dead  and  fulfilled 
the  Law  by  the  legal  way  of  the  crucifixion  of  the 
Christ  upon  the  cross,  Paul  wrenched  tho  Gospel 
from  its  native  soil  and  gave  it  at  the  same  time 
through  his  Christological  speculation  and  his  carry- 
ing out  of  the  contrast  of  flesh  and  spirit,  a  charac- 


UfSS. 


^\ 


!    1 


I 


|!    1' 


n 


Ol'TMNKS   OK   TIIK    IIISTOKY    OK    F)()(1MA. 


Heathen 

Not 

Ol)lifjwl   to 

Bwom« 

JtiWS. 


Transfor- 
mation of 
Christian- 
ity Oi- 

curred 

Apait 

from 

Paul. 


toristic  Htamp  whicli  was  romproliciisiblo  to  the 
(i rocks,  although  thoy  were  illy  prepared  to  accept 
his  special  manner  of  reconciling  it  with  the  Law. 
Through  Paul,  who  was  the  first  theologian,  the 
(juestion  of  the  Law  (in  theory  and  practice)  and 
the  principles  of  missionary  activity  accordingly  he- 
came  the  absorbing  themes  in  the  Christian  coninni- 
nities.  While  he  in-oclaimed  freed()m  from  the  Law 
and  baptized  the  heathen,  forbidding  them  to  become 
Jews,  others  now  for  the  first  time  consciously  made 
the  righteousness  of  Christian  believers  dependent 
upon  the  punctilious  observance  of  the  Law  and  re- 
jected Paul  as  an  apostle  and  as  a  Christian.  Yet 
the  chief  disciples  of  Jesus  were  convinced,  perha.i)s 
not  a  little  influenced  by  the  success  of  Paul,  and 
concede  \  to  the  heathen  the  right  to  become  Chris- 
tians without  first  becoming  Jews.  This  well  at- 
tested fact  is  the  strongest  evidence  that  Christ  had 
awakened  among  his  personal  disciples  a  faith  in 
himself,  which  was  dearer  to  them  than  all  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  fathers.  Yet  there  were  among  those 
who  accepted  the  Pauline  mission  various  opinions 
as  to  the  attitude  which  one  should  take  toward 
heathen  Christians  in  ordinary  life  and  intercourse. 
These  opinions  held  out  for  a  long  time. 

As  surely  as  Paul  had  fought  his  fight  for  the 
whole  of  Christendom,  so  sure  also  is  it  that  the 
transformation  of  the  original  form  of  Christianity 
into  its  universal  form  took  place  outside  of  his 
activity  (proof*  the  Church  at  Rome).     The  Juda- 


1    \ 


MA. 


I'llOI.EGOMKNA. 


>    to    tlie 
to  accept 
he  Law. 
pan,    the 
ice)   and 
ingly  1)0- 
conimu- 
the  Law 
)  become 
ly  made 
pendent 
and  re- 
n.     Yet 
perhaps 
nl,  and 
)  Chris- 
veil  at- 
ist  had 
lith  in 
he  tra- 
?  those 
)inions 
oward 
'oiirse. 

)r  the 
at  the 
ianity 
►f  his 
Juda- 


ism ot'  the  diaspora  was  lon<^  since  surrounded  h}-  a 
retiiuie  of  half-hred  Grecian  brethren,  for  whom  the 
particular  and  national  forms  of  the  Old  Testament 
religion  were  hardly  existent  (see  VIL).  And,  far- 
ther, this  Judaism  itself  had  begun  to  transform  for 
the  Jews  the  old  religion  into  a  universal  and  spirit- 
ual religion  without  casting  aside  its  forms,  which 
were  rather  considered  significant  symbols  (myster- 
ies). The  Gospel,  being  received  into  these  circles, 
completed  sim|)ly  and  almost  suddenly  the  process  of 
s])iritualizing  the  old  religion,  and  it  stripped  oflf  the 
old  forms  as  shells,  replacing  them  at  once  in  part  by 
new  forms  {e.g.,  circumcision  is  circumcision  of  the 
heart,  likewise  also  baptism;  the  Sabbath  is  the 
glorious  kingdom  of  Christ,  etc.).  The  outward 
withdrawal  from  the  synagogue  is  also  here  a  clear 
proof  of  the  power  and  self -consciousness  oi  the  new 
religion.  The  same  developed  itself  rapidly  in  con- 
secpience  of  the  hatred  of  the  Jews,  who  adhered  to 
the  old  faith.  Paul  exerted  an  influence,  and  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  cleared  up  entirely  the  ob- 
scurities which  still  remained. 

VL— The  Current  Exposition  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament AND  THE  Jewish  Future  Hope,  in 
their  Bearing  on  the  Earliest  Formula- 
tion of  the  Christian  Message. 

1.  Although  the  method  of  the  pedant,  the  casuis-  ^Kx^^Kl'sii'* 
tic  handling  of  the  Law  and  the  extortion  of  the  »)y  churJh. 


1, 1 


,  I 


i    i; 


Jewish 

Apociilyp- 

tic  Litt'ia- 

ture  Rtv 

tuiued. 


94 


OUTLINES  OF   TIIK   IIISTOHY    OF    IJOOMA. 


dtH'[)(»s(  moaning  of  tho  itropliccics,  liad  Im'cii  in  priii- 
ciplo  (lono  away  with  by  Johus  Clirist,  the  old 
school-oxogesis  still  remained  active  in  the  Cliria- 
tian  rhurchos,  and  especially  the  nnhistorical  local- 
method  in  the  exposition  of  the  Old  Testament,  as 
well  as  the  allegoristic  and  the  Ilaggada ;  for  a  sacred 
text — and  as  such  the  Old  Testanu^nt  was  considered 
— ever  invites  men  in  the  exposition  of  it  to  disre- 
gard its  historical  conditions  and  interpret  it  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  the  time.  Especially  wherever 
the  proofs  of  the  fulfilment^  prophecy,  i.e.,  of  the 
Messiah-ship  of  Jesus  was  concerned,  the  received 
point  of  view  exercised  its  influence,  as  well  upon 
the  exposition  of  the  Old  Testament  as  upon  the 
conception  of  the  person,  fate  and  deeds  of  Jesus. 
It  gave,  under  the  strong  impression  of  the  history 
of  Jesus,  to  many  Old  Testament  passages  n  foreign 
sense  and  enriched,  on  the  other  hard,  the  life  of 
Jesus  with  new  facts,  throwing  the  emphasis  upon 
details,  which  were  often  unreal  and  seldom  of  prime 
importance. 

2.  The  Jewish  apocalyptic  literature,  as  it  flour- 
ished after  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  was  not 
forbidden  within  the  circles  of  the  first  believers  oi 
the  Gospel,  but  rather  was  it  retained  and  read  as 
an  explanation  of  the  prophecies  of  Jesus  and,  as  it 
were,  cultivated.  Although  the  content  of  the  same 
appeared  modified  and  the  uncertainty  regarding  the 
person  of  the  Messiah  who  was  to  appear  in  judg- 
ment w^as  done  away  with,  the  earthly  sensuous 


J  *'- 


PHOLKfJOMKNA. 


5i5 


hoiH's  wore  by  no  moans  wholly  roproHsod.  Confused 
pioturos  filled  tho  fjincy,  throatonod  to  obsouro  the 
plain  and  earnest  description  of  the  judj^nient  which 
every  individual  soul  is  sure  of,  and  drove  many 
friends  of  the  Gospel  into  a  restless  turmoil  and  intt) 
a  detestation  of  the  state.  Consecpiently  the  repro- 
duction of  the  eschatological  discourses  of  Jesus  be- 
came indefinite;  even  things  wholly  foreign  were 
mingled  therewith,  and  the  true  aim  of  the  Christian 
life  and  hope  began  to  waver. 

3.  Through  the  apocalyptic  literature,  tho  artificial  ^'J!j/|'"''^,f** 
exegesis  and  the  Haggada,  a  mass  of  mythological  i!il.u!,"il|.'. 
and  poetical  ideas  crowded  into  the  Christian  com- 
munities and  were  legitimized.  Tho  most  imjMjr- 
tant  for  tho  succeeding  times  were  tho  speculations  in 
regard  to  the  Messiah,  which  were  drawn  in  part 
from  the  Old  Testament  and  the  apocalypses  and  in 
part  were  constructed  in  accordance  with  methods 
whoso  right  no  one  questioned  and  whoso  adoption 
seemed  to  give  security  to  the  faith.  Long  since  in 
the  Jewish  religion  men  had  given  to  everything 
that  is  and  that  happens  an  existence  within  the 
knowledge  of  God,  but  they  had  in  reality  confined 
this  representation  to  that  only  which  is  really  im- 
portant.    The  advancing  religious  thought  had  above    Pn-Exist- 

ence    As- 
all  included  individuals  also,  that  is,  the  most  promi-    jiJ,yy|lJ," 

nent,  within    this  speculation  which  should  glorify 

God,  and  so  a  pro-existence  was  ascribed  also  to  the 

Messiah,  but  of  such  a  nature  that  by  virtue  of  it 

he  abides  ivith  Ood  during  his  earthly  manifesta- 


i' 


ilil 


«^        ! 


|l    > 


!       I 


Hoot  .  f 

Speciiiii 

ti.ju. 


26 


<>l  TLINKS   OK   THE    HISTORY    OP'   1)0(JMA. 


tioH.  In  <)i)pu.siti()n  to  tliis,  llio  Hellenics  ideas  of 
pre-existeiice  rooted  themselves  in  the  distinguishing 
of  God  and  matter;  spirit  and  flesh.  According  to 
the  same  the  Spirit  is  pre-existent  and  visible  na- 
ture is  only  a  shell  which  it  assumes.  Here  was 
the  soil  for  ideas  about  the  incarnation,  the  assump- 
tion of  a  second  nature,  etc.  In  the  time  of  Christ 
these  Hellenic  ideas  influenced  the  Jewish  and  thus 
both  were  so  spread  abroad  that  even  the  most  prom- 
inent Christian  teachers  adopted  them.  The  relig- 
ious convictions  (see  V.  2),  that,  (1)  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth  and  the 
sending  of  Jesus  as  the  perfect  Mediator  was  from 
eternity  the  highest  purpose  in  God's  plan  of  salva- 
tion, that,  (2)  the  glorified  Christ  has  entered  into 
his  own  proper  position  of  God-like  dominion,  that, 
(3)  in  Jesus  God  has  revealed  himself,  and  that  he 
therefore  excels  all  Old  Testament  mediators,  yes, 
tlie  angel-powers  themselves — these  convictions  were 
so  fixed  (not  without  the  influence  of  Hellenic 
thought)  that  Jesus  pre-existed,  i.e.  tluit  in  him  a 
heavenly  Being  of  like  rank  with  God,  older  than 
the  world,  yes  even  its  creating  Principle,  has  ap- 
peared and  assumed  our  flesh.  The  religious  root  of 
chis  speculation  lay  in  sentences  such  as  I.  Pet.  1, 
20 ;  its  forms  of  statement  were  varied  even  accord- 
ing to  the  intelligence  of  the  teacher  and  his  famil- 
iarity with  the  apocalyptic  theology  or  with  the 
Hellenic  philosophy  of  religion,  in  which  intermedi- 
ate beings  (above  all  the  Logos)  played  a  great  role. 


.  ii     ! 


PK(>LK(;()MKNA. 


27 


Rise  nnil 

Sni'ciid 

In.  istiiift. 


Only  the  Fourth  Evangolist — he  hardly  hulungs  to 
the  1st  century — saw  with  perfect  clearness  that  the 
pre-earthly  Christ  must  be  established  as  '''^''V  iu>  iv 
"■I'XJI  '('^^"^  '"^  '''^'''^)  ill  order  not  t(j  endanger  the  content 
and  significance  of  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ. 
In  addition  there  prevailed  in  wide  circles  such  con- 
ceptions also  as  recognized  in  a  spiritual  communi- 
cation at  his  baptism  the  eciuipment  of  the  man 
Jesus  (see  the  genealogies,  the  beginning  of  the 
Gospel  of  Mark)  for  his  office,  or  found  upon  tlie 
basis  of  Isa.  vii.  in  his  miraculous  birth  (from  a 
virgin)  the  germ  of  his  uni(iue  being.  (The  rise 
and  spread  of  this  representation  is  wholly  indistinct 
to  us ;  Paul  seems  not  to  hjive  known  it ;  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  l^d  century  it  is  almort  universal.) 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  of  great  significance  tlmt 
every  teacher  who  recognized  the  new  in  Christian 
ity  as  religion  ascribed  pre-existonco  to  Christ. 

Supplement . — A  reference  to  the  witness  of  proph- 
ecy, to  the  current  exposition  of  the  Old  Testament, 
to  apocalyptic  writings  and  valid  methods  of  specu- 
lation was  not  sufficient  to  clear  up  every  new  point 
which  cropped  out  in  the  statement  of  the  Christian 
message.  The  earliest  brother-hoods  were  enthusias- 
tic, had  prophets  in  the  midst  of  them,  etc.  Under 
such  conditions  facts  were  produced  outright  contin- 
ually in  the  history  (c.^.,  as  particularly  weighty,  J'acts  ito- 
the  ascension  of  Christ  and  his  descent  into  heF.). 
It  is  farther  not  poesiblo  to  point  out  the  motive  to 
such  productions,  which  first  onlj"  by  the  creation  of 


Knrlii'sf 

IkhmIs  En- 
thusiast if. 


iM 


fl 


I  i 


!  'i!i 


I  ,ii 


4  \ 


b<    Ii', 


28 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


the  New  Testament  Canon  reached  a  hy  no  means 
complete  end,  i.e.,  now  became  enriched  by  compre- 
hensible mythologumena. 

VIL— The  Religious  Conceptions  and  the  Re- 
ligious Philosophy  of  the  Hellenistic 
Jews  in  Their  Bearing  on  the  Transfor- 
mation OF  THE  Gospel  Message. 

Religion  of       1.  From  the  remnants  of  Jewish- Alexandrian  lit- 

Diaspora, 

aud"^ooJ-  erature  (reference  is  also  made  to  the  Sibylline 
naoogy.  Qp^cles  as  Well  as  to  Joseph  as)  and  from  the  great 
propaganda  of  Judaism  in  the  Grseco- Roman  world, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  there  was  a  Judaism  in  the 
diaspora  to  whoso  consciousness  the  cultus  and  the 
ceremonial  law  disappeared  entirely  behind  the  mono- 
theistic worship  of  God  without  images,  behind  the 
moral  instruction  and  the  faith  in  a  future  reward 
beyond.  Circumcision  itself  was  no  longer  abso- 
lutely required  of  those  converted  to  Judaism;  one 
was  also  satisfied  w'th  the  cleansing  bath.  The 
Jewish  religion  seemed  here  transformed  into  a  com- 
mon human  morality  and  into  a  monotheistic  cos- 
mology. Accordingly  tne  thought  of  the  theocracy 
ae  well  as  the  Messianic  hope  grew  dim.  The  latter 
did  not  entirely  fail,  however,  but  the  prophecies 
were  valued  chieily  for  the  proof  of  the  antiquity  of  the 
Jewish  monotheism,  and  the  thought  of  the  future 
spent  itself  in  the  expectation  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Roman  empire,  of  the  burning  of  the  world  and — 


PROLEGOMENA. 


29 


Propara- 

tion  for 

Christian- 

Greeks. 


what  is  Weightiest — the  general  judgment.  That 
which  is  specifically  Jewish  preserved  itself  under  a 
high  regard  for  the  Old  Testament,  which  was  con- 
sidered as  the  fountain  of  all  wisdom  (also  for  the 
Greek  philosophy  and  the  elements  of  truth  in  the 
non- Jewish  religions).  Many  intelligent  men  also 
observed  punctiliously  the  Law  for  the  sake  of  its 
symlolical  significance.  Such  Jews,  together  with 
their  converts  from  the  Greeks,  formed  a  new  Juda- 
ism upon  the  foundation  of  the  old.  And  these  j^re- 
pared  the  soil  for  the  Christianizing  of  the  Greeks, 
as  well  as  for  the  establishment  within  the  empire 
of  a  great  Gentile  Church  free  from  the  Law;  under 
the  influence  of  Greek  culture  it  developed  into  a 
kind  of  universal  society  with  a  monotheistic  back- 
ground. As  religion  it  laid  aside  the  national  forms, 
put  itself  forward  as  the  most  perfect  form  of  that 
"  natural "  religion,  which  the  Stoa  had  discovered. 
But  in  that  way  it  became  more  iiioralifitic  and  lost 
a  part  of  the  religious  enorgy,  which  the  prophets 
and  psalmists  possessed.  The  inner  union  of  Juda- 
ism and  the  Hellenistic  philosophy  of  religion  indi- 
cates a  great  advance  in  the  history  of  religion  and 
culture,  l)ut  the  same  did  not  lead  to  strong  religious 
creations.  Its  productions  passed  over  into  "  Chris- 
tianity." 

2.  The  Jewish- Alexandrian  philosophy  of  religion 
had  its  most  noted  defender  in  Philo,— the  perfect  ^JiJophy^df 
Greek  and  the  sincere  Jew,  who  turned  the  religious     ^phila"' 
philosopliy   of  his   time   in   the   direction  of    Neo- 


Jpwish- 
Alexan- 


It 


I  ! 


M( 


in 

til 


: 


'i 


t  I 


Asc'Ptic 
Virtue. 


Inrttiencp 
of  AU'xnii- 
(Iriim  Plii- 
losojihy   of 

|{<'li).^ioii 

U|)OI» 

Christ  iiin- 

ity. 


30 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


Platonism  and  prepared  the  way  for  a  Christian 
tlieology,  which  was  able  to  rival  the  philosophy. 
Pliiio  was  a  Platonist  and  a  Stoic,  but  at  the  same 
tinio  a  revelation-philosopher;  he  placed  the  final 
end  in  that  wliich  is  above  reason  and  therefore  the 
highest  power  in  the  Divine  communication.  On 
the  either  hand,  he  saw  in  the  human  spirit  some- 
thing Divine  and  bridged  over  the  contrast  between 
God  and  creature-5j>/y/^,  between  nature  and  history, 
by  means  of  the  personal- impersonal  Logos,  out  of 
which  he  explained  religion  and  the  world  whose 
material,  it  is  true,  remained  to  him  wholly  perish- 
able and  evil.  His  ethical  tendencies  had,  therefore, 
in  principle  a  strong  ascetic  character,  however  much 
he  might  guard  the  earthly  virtues  as  relative.  Vir- 
tue is  freedom  from  the  sensuous  and  it  is  made  per- 
fect through  the  touch  of  Divinity.  This  touch  sur- 
passes all  knowledge;  the  latter,  however,  is  to  bo 
highly  prized  as  the  tvay.  Meditation  upon  the 
world  is  by  Pliilo  dependent  upon  the  need  of  hap- 
piness and  freedom,  w^hich  is  higher  than  all  reason. 
One  may  say  that  Philo  is  therefore  the  first  who, 
as  a  philosopher,  gave  to  this  need  a  clear  expression, 
because  he  was  not  only  a  Greek,  but  also  a  Jew 
imbued  with  the  Old  Testament  within  whose  view, 
it  is  true,  the  synthesis  of  the  Messiah  and  of  the 
Logos  did  not  lay. 

'A.  The  practical  fundamental  conceptions  of  the 
Alexandrian  philosophy  of  religion  must,  in  different 
degrees,   have    found    an   entrance  very  early  into 


PROLEGOMENA. 


31 


the  Jewish-Christian  circles  of  the  diaspora,  and 
through  the  same  also  into  the  Gontile-Christian ;  or 
rather  the  soil  was  already  prepared  wherever  these 
thoughts  became  widespread.  After  the  beginning 
of  the  2d  century  the  philosophy  of  Philo  also  be- 
came influential  through  Christian  teachers,  espe- 
cially his  Logos-doctrine,  as  the  expression  of  the 
unity  of  religion,  nature  and  history;  and  ahoi'e  all 
his  fundamental  liermeneutic  principles.  The  sys- 
tems of  Valentine  and  Origen  presuppose  the  system 
of  Philo.  His  fine  dualism  and  allegorical  art  (*'the 
Biblical  alchemy ")  became  acceptable  also  to  the 
learned  men  of  the  Church;  to  find  the  spiritual 
meaning  of  the  sacred  text,  in  part  alongside  the 
letter  and  in  part  outside,  was  the  watchword  of 
scientific  Christian  theology,  which  in  general  was 
possible  only  upon  such  a  basis,  since  it  strove,  with- 
out recognizing  a  relative  standard,  to  unify  the 
monstrous  and  discordant  material  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  Gospel,  and  to  reconcile  both  with  the 
religion  and  scientific  culture  of  the  Greeks.  Here 
Philo  was  a  master,  for  he  first  in  the  largest  sense 
])oured  the  new  wine  into  the  old  wine-skins — a  i)ro- 
codure  in  its  ultimate  intention  justified,  since  his- 
tory is  a  unit;  but  in  its  pedantic  and  scholastic 
execution  the  same  was  a  source  of  illusions,  of  un- 
reality and  finally  of  stultification. 


Vnlt'ntinus 
nn<l  ( )ript*n 

Presup- 
pose I'hilo. 


i:t 


ll 

Grneco-Rri- 

rnan  World 

|! 

Grew  Mon^ 

i' 

Rt^li  pious 
in  ad  and 

!; 

1  '■ 

1 

3d  t^entu- 

I  i  i 


ii 


I  ■ 


•"M 


111 


.1 


ni\ 


ries. 


32 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


VIII.  —  The  Religious  Disposition  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  in  the  First  Two 
Centuries  and  the  Contemporary  Gr^co- 
RoMAN  Philosophy  of  Religion. 

1.  In  the  age  of  Cicero  and  Augustus  the  people's 
religion  and  the  religious  sense  in  general  was  almost 
entirely  wanting  in  cultured  circles,  but  after  the 
end  of  the  1st  century  of  our  era  a  revival  of  the  relig- 
ious sense  is  noticeable  in  the  Grgeco-Roman  world, 
which  affected  all  grades  of  society  and  seemed  after 
the  middle  of  the  2d  century  to  grow  stronger  from 
decennium  to  decennium.  Parallel  with  it  went  the 
not  fruitless  attempt  to  restore  the  old  national  cults, 
religious  usages,  oracles,  et  cetera.  Meanwhile  the 
new  religious  needs  of  the  time  did  not  reach  a  vig- 
orous or  untroubled  expression  through  this  effort, 
which  was  made  in  part  from  above  and  in  part  by 
artificial  means.  The  same  sought,  far  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  wholly  changed  conditions  of  the 
times,  to  find  new  forms  of  gratification  (intermin- 
gling and  intercourse  of  nations  —downfall  of  the  old 
republican  constitutions,  institutions  and  classes — 
monarchy  and  absolutism — social  crises  and  pauper- 
ism— influence  of  philosophy,  religion,  morality  and 
law — cosmopolitanism  and  human  rights — influx  of 
Oriental  cults  —  knowledge  of  the  world  and  sa- 
tiety). Under  the  influence  of  philosophy  a  dispo- 
sition toward  monotheism  was  developed  out  of  the 
downfall  of  the  political  cults  and  the  syncretism. 


P 


I'R(^LEG()MENA. 


33 


Religion  and  individual  inorfdify  became  more 
closely  united:  Spirit acdizid ion  of  the  cidts^  en- 
nobling of  man^  idea  of  ethical  personality^  of  con- 
science and  of  puritij.  Repentance  and  pardon 
became  of  importance,  also  inner  union  with  the 
Divinity,  longing  for  revelation  {asceticism  and 
nn/sterions  rites  c(s  a  means  of  appropriating  the 
Divine),  yearning  after  a  painless,  eternal  life  be- 
yond the  grave  (apotheosis);  the  earthly  life  as  a 
phantom  life  {--yx/xireca  and  (hdirzacci) ,  Just  as  in  the 
2d  century  the  moral  swing  was  the  stronger,  so  in 
the  3d  century  the  religious  increased  more  and  more 
— thirst  for  life.  Polytheism  was  not  thereby  over- 
come, but  only  shoved  aside  upon  a  lower  plane, 
where  it  was  as  active  as  ever.  The  numen  supre- 
mum  revealed  its  fulness  in  a  thousand  forms  (demi- 
gods), going  upward  (apotheosis,  emperor  cult, 
"dominus  ac  dens  noster^')  and  downward  (mani- 
festations in  nature  and  in  hi"story) .  The  soul  itself 
is  a  super-earthly  being ;  the  ideal  of  the  perfect  man 
and  of  the  Leader  (Redeemer)  was  developed  and 
sought  after.  The  new  remained  in  part  concealed 
by  the  old  cultus  forms,  which  the  state  and  piety 
protected  or  restored;  there  was  a  feeling-around 
after  forms  of  expression,  and  yet  the  wise,  the 
skeptic,  the  pious  and  the  patriot  capitulated  to  the 
cultish  traditions. 

2.  The  formation  of  social  organizations,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  founding  of  the  monarchical 
world-wide  Roman  empire,  on  the  other,  had  tlie 


KfliKion 

ninl  AInr.vl- 

itv  Moro 

L'uited. 


Social  Or- 
ganiza- 
tions, Hn 
rnaa  Eui- 
I)ift',  t'os- 
iiio;)i)litati- 
isui. 


1     >!l 


"I 


1 1 


i  .( 


<  ,i 


I 


in 


stoicism, 
riatouism. 


Nfo-Plat- 
ouism. 


34 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


greatest  significance  as  regards  the  deveh^pment  of 
something  new.  Everywhere  there  sprang  up  that 
cosmopolitan  feeling,  which  points  beyond  itself, 
there  toward  the  practice  of  charity,  here  toward 
the  uniting  of  mankind  under  one  head  and  the  wip- 
ing out  of  national  lines.  The  Church  appropriated, 
piece  for  piece^  the  great  apparatus  of  the  earthly 
Roman  empire;  in  its  constitution,  perhaps,  it  also 
saw  the  portrayal  of  the  Divine  economy. 

3.  Perhaps  the  most  decisive  factor  in  the  change 
of  the  religious-ethical  attitude  was  the  philosophy, 
which  in  almost  all  its  schools  had  more  and  more 
brought  ethics  forward  and  deepened  the  same. 
Upon  the  soil  of  Stoicism,  Posidonius,  Seneca,  Epic- 
tetus  and  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  upon  the  soil  of 
Platonism,  men  like  Plutarch  had  achieved  an  ethi- 
cal-outlook, which  in  its  principles  (knowledge,  res- 
ignation, trust  in  God)  was  obscure,  yet  in  some 
particulars  scarcely  admits  of  improvement.  Com- 
mon to  them  all  is  the  great  value  put  upon  the  soul. 
A  religious  bent,  the  desire  for  Divine  assistance, 
for  redemption  and  for  a  life  beyond,  comes  out  dis- 
tinctly in  some  of  them ;  most  clearly  in  the  Neo- 
Platonists  and  those  who  anticipated  them  in  the  2d 
centurj'-  (preparation  by  Philo).  Characteristics  of 
this  mode  of  thought  are  the  dualistic  contrasting  of 
the  Divine  and  the  earthlj^  the  abstract  idea  of  God, 
the  assertion  of  the  unknowableness  of  God,  skepti- 
cism in  regard  to  sense-experience  and  distrust  of 
the  powers  of  reason ;   at  the  same  time  great  readi- 


PROLE(}OMENA. 


35 


Fantawii' 

I,«';riti- 

inizcd. 


ness  to  investigate  and  to  utilize  the  results  of  the 
previous  scientific  labors;  and  farther,  the  demand 
for  freedom  from  the  sensuous  through  asceticism, 
the  want  of  an  authority,  belief  in  a  higher  revela- 
tion and  the  fusing  of  religion,  science  and  mythol- 
ogy. Already  men  began  to  legitimize  the  relig- 
ious fantasie  within  the  realm  of  philosophy,  by 
reaching  back  and  seizing  the  myths  as  the  vehicle 
of  the  deepest  wisdom  (romanticism).  The  tlieo- 
sophical  philosophy  which  had  thus  equipped  itself 
was  from  the  standpoint  of  natural  science  and  clear 
thinking  in  many  ways  a  retrogression  (yet  not  in 
all  partic':lcirs,  e.g.  the  Neo-Platonic  psj^chology  is 
far]  bocter  than  the  Stoic) ;  but  it  was  an  expression 
for  the  deeper  religious  needs  and  the  better  self- 
knowledge.  The  inner  life  with  its  desires  was  now 
altogether  the  starting-point  for  all  thought  concern- 
ing the  world.  Thoughts  of  the  divine,  gracious 
Providence,  of  the  kinship  of  all  men,  of  the  common 
fraternal  love,  of  the  ready  and  willing  forgiveness 
of  wrong,  of  the  indulgenc  patience,  of  the  insight 
into  tlicir  own  weaknesses  were  no  less  the  product 
of  the  practical  philosophy  of  the  Greeks  for  wide 
circles,  than  the  conviction  of  the  inherent  sinful- 
ness, of  the  need  of  redemption  and  of  the  value  of  a 
human  soul  which  finds  its  rest  only  in  God.     But  Revpiation 

and    Relif? 

men  possessed  no  sure  revelation,  no  comprehensive    'bunion' 
and  satisfactory  religious  eommunion,  no  vigorous 
and  religious  genius  and  no  conception  of  hislonj, 
which  could  take  the  place  of  the  no  longer  valuable 


,'M 


munion 
Wan  tin; 


k 


•^  - 


I 


I  i' 

t   1 1 


'    I  ; 


I  : 


i    ! 


f  ■ 


36 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTOKY   OF   DOGMA. 


political  history;  men  poHsessed  no  ccrtilnde  anil 
thoy  (lid  not  get  beyond  the  wavering  between  the 
fear  of  God  and  the  deification  of  nature.  Yet  with 
this  philosophy,  the  highest  the  age  had  to  offer, 
the  Gospel  allied  itself,  avd  the  stages  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Dogma  dnring  the  first 
fwe  centuries  correspond  to  the  stages  of  the 
Hellenistic  Philosophy  of  Religion  ivithin  the 
same  period. 


introduc-       As  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  the  history  of 

tory  Works 

to  History  dogma  the  following  works  are  to  be  especially  com- 
mended: Schiirer,  Geschichto  des  jiidischen  Volks 
im  Zeitaltor  Jesu  Christi,  2.  Bd.  1885  (English 
translation  published  by  T.  &  T.  Clark).  Weber, 
System  der  altsynagogalen  palastinensischen  The- 
ologie,  1880.  Kuenen,  Volksreligion  und  Weltre- 
ligion,  1883.  Wellhausen,  Abriss  der  Geschichte 
Israel's  und  Juda's  (Skizzen  und  Vorarbeiten,  1. 
Heft,  1884).  Weiss,  Lehrbuch  der  bibl.  Theolo- 
gie,  4.  Aufl.,  1884.  Baldensperger,  Das  Selbstbe- 
wustsein  Jesu  im  Licht  der  messianischen  Hoff- 
nungen  seiner  Zeit,  1888.  Leben  Jesu  von  Keim, 
Weiss  and  others  and  the  Einleitungen  in  das  N. 
T.  von  Reuss,  Hilgenfeld,  Mangold,  Holtzmann  und 
Weiss.  Weizsiicker,  Apostolisches  Zeitalter,  188G. 
Renan,  Hist,  des  Orig.  du  Christianisme,  T.  II.- 
IV.  Pfleidorer,  Das  Urchristendum,  1887,  Dics- 
tel,  Geschichte  des  A.    T.    i.  der  christi.   Kirche, 


% 


a 


I 


A 


PROLEGOMENA. 


37 


18r,!l,  Siegfried,  Philo  v.  Alex.  1875.  Bigg,  The 
ChriHtian  PlatoniHts  of  Alexandria,  ISSO.  Die 
UiiterHUchungen  von  Freudentlial  ('  Hellenistisclie 
Studion ')  and  Bernays.  BoisKier,  La  R«''ligion 
Romaino  d'Augiiste  aux  Antonins,  2  vols,,  187  4. 
Reville,  La  Religion  a  Rome  sous  len  Sevr'res, 
188G  (German  by  Kriiger  1888).  Friedliinder,  Dar- 
stellungen  aus  der  Sittengeschichte  Roms  in  der  Zeit 
von  August  bis  zu  Ausgang  der  Antonine,  3.  Bdd. 
5.  Aufl.  Marquardt,  Romische  Staatsverwaltung,  3. 
Bdd.  1878.  Leopold  Schmidt,  Die  Ethik  der  alten 
Griechen,  2  Bdd.  1882.  Heinze,  Die  Lebre  vom 
Logos,  1872.  Hirzel,  Untersucbungen  zu  Cicero's 
philos.  Schriften,  C  Tble.  1877.  Die  Lebrbiicber 
der  Geschicbte  der  Pbilosopbie  von  Zeller,  Ueber- 
weg,  Striimpell  and  otbers, 


H 


m 


%\ 


fif 


I 


i 


h 


M     !   II 


ii  '    '  I  ' 


part  I. 

THE  RISE  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  DOCMA. 


BOOK  I. 
THE    PREPARATION. 


CHAP  .  KU    I. 


HISTORICAL  SURVEY. 

THE  first  century  of  the  existence  of  Gentile- 
Christian  communities  is  characterized,  (I)  l)y 
the  rapid  retirement  of  Jewish  Christianity,  ('^)  by 
religious  enthusiasm  and  the  strength  of  the  future 
hope,  (;])  by  a  severe  moralit}'  deduced  from  the 
Masters'  teaching,  (4)  by  the  manifold  form  and 
freedom  of  expression  of  belief,  on  the  basis  of  plain 
fornuilas  and  ever  increasing  tradition,  (5)  by  the 
lack  of  a  definite  authority,  in  the  transition  to  a 
recognized  outward  authority  among  the  churches, 
(0)  by  the  lack  of  a  political  connection  among  the 
various  communities,  and  by  an  organization  which 
was  firm  and  yet  permitted  individual  liberty,  (7) 
by  the  development  of  a  peculiar  literary  activity, 
claiming  assent  to  its  newly  produced   facts,  (8)  by 

the  reproduction  of  detached  phrases  and  individual 

39 


Oontile- 

ChriHtiuii 

(Viinnuuii- 

tics. 


! 


^^l     i\\ 


*  m 


:ii' 

;;., 


i  '    ■ 
;  1 


40 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 


inferences  from  tlie  apostolical  teacliiiig,  without 
a  clear  understanding  of  the  same,  (0)  by  the  crop- 
ping out  of  those  tendencies  which  served  in  every 
way  to  hasten  the  process  already  begun  of  fusing 
the  Gospel  with  the  spiritual  and  religious  interests 
of  the  time, — with  Hellenism, — as  well  as  by  numer- 
ous attempts  to  wrench  the  Gospel  free  from  its 
native  setting  and  to  introduce  elements  foreign  to 
it.  And  finally,  above  all,  it  belonged  to  the  (Hel- 
lenic) representation  to  consider  knowledge,  not  as 
a  (charismatic)  supplement  to  faith,  but  as  of  like 
essence  with  it. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GROUND   COMMON   TO   CHRISTIANS  AND   ATTITUDE 
TAKEN  TOWARD   JUDAJ^M. 

Beliefs         That  the  great  majority  of  Christians  had  com- 

Courion 

to  cHHs-  ^QT^Qii  beliefs  is  indicated  by  this  fact,  among  others, 
that  gnosticism  was  gradually  expelled  from  the 
churches.  Assurance  of  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  consciousness  of  responsibility  to  him,  faith  in 
Christ,  hope  in  eternal  life,  exaltation  above  the  pres- 
ent world, — these  were  fundamental  thoughts.  If 
we  enter  into  details  the  following  points  may  be 
noted : 

Gospel.  1.  The  Gospel,  being  founded  upon  a  revelation, 
is  the-  reliable  message  of  the  true  God,  the  faithful 
acceptance  of  which  guarantees  salvation ; 


1 


■t 


f 


u — 


l*i 


THE   PREPARATION. 


41 


TDE 

Icom- 
lers, 
the 
true 
ih  in 
ires- 
If 
be 

ion, 
itiil 


2.  Tlie  real  content  of  this  n»-^3snage  is  spiritual 
moncUieism,  the  announcemonc  of  tlie  resurrection 
and  oternal  life,  as  well  as  the  proclamation  of  moral 
purity  and  abstinence  on  the  ground  of  repentance 
toward  God  and  of  attested  cleansing  through  bap- 
tism in  remembrance  of  the  reward  of  good  and 
evil; 

3.  This  message  comes  to  us  through  Jesus  Christ, 
who  "  in  these  last  days  "  is  the  commissioned  Sa- 
viour and  stands  in  a  peculiar  relationship  with  God. 
He  is  the  l^edeemer  (nutrrj/i)  because  he  has  brought 
full  knowledge  of  God  and  the  gift  of  eternal  life 
{yxutri^  and  ^ojrj,  and  especially  y-'wrn^  ry;^  C<«?7s%  the  ex- 
pression for  the  summa  of  the  Gospel).  He  is  also 
the  highest  Prototype  of  every  ethic?il  virtue,  the 
Law-Giver  £.id  the  Law  of  the  perfect  life,  and 
accordingly  the  Conqueror  of  demons  and  the  Judge 
of  the  world ; 

4.  Virtue  is  abstinence  (a  renunciation  of  the  good 
things  of  this  world,  in  which  the  Christian  is  a 
stranger,  and  whose  destruction  is  awaited)  and 
brotherly  love; 

5.  The  message  of  the  Christ  is  entrusted  to 
chosen  men,  to  apostles,  and  more  especially  to  one 
apostle;  their  preaching  is  the  preaching  of  the 
Christ.  Moreover,  the  Spirit  of  God  reproduces  his 
gifts  and  graces  in  the  "saints,"  and  thus  equips 
special  "prophets  and  teachers,"  who  receive  com 
nuuiications  for  the  edification  of  others ; 

).  Christian  worship  is  tiie  offering  of  spiritual 


Content  of 
Message. 


C'onios 
throu^^h 
Christ. 


Virtue  is 
Abstinence 
and  Love. 


Message 
Entrusted 
to  Apos- 
tles. 


G. 


Worship. 


i 


'  I  '■ 


! 


II 


Li 


Basis  of 

lirother- 

huod. 


Christian- 
ity and 
Judaism. 


42 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OP  DOGMA. 


sacrifice  without  regard  to  statutory  rites  and  cere- 
monies; the  holy  offices  and  anointings,  which  are 
connected  with  the  Christian  cult,  have  their  virtue 
in  this,  that  spiritual  blessings  are  therewith  im- 
parted ; 

7.  The  barriers  of  sex,  age,  position  and  nation- 
ality vanish  entirely  for  Christians,  as  Christians; 
the  Christian  brotherhood  rests  upon  the  Divine 
election  and  is  organized  through  the  gifts  of  the 
Spirit;  in  regard  to  the  ground  of  election  there 
were  divers  views ; 

8.  Since  Christianity  is  the  only  true  religion  and 
is  not  a  national  religion,  but  belongs  to  all  mankind 
and  pertains  to  our  inmost  life,  it  follows  tuat  it  can 
have  no  special  alliance  with  the  Jewish  people,  or 
with  their  peculiar  cult.  The  Jewish  people  of  to- 
day, at  least,  stand  in  no  favored  relationship  with 
the  God  whom  Jesus  has  revealed;  whether  they 
formerly  did  is  doubtful;  this,  however,  is  certain, 
that  God  has  cast  them  off,  and  that  the  whole 
Divine  revelation,  so  far  as  there  was  any  revela- 
tion prior  to  Christ  (the  majority  believed  in  one  and 
looked  upon  the  Old  Testament  as  Holy  Scripture) 
had  as  its  end  the  calling  of  a  "  new  nation "  and 
the  spreading  of  the  revelation  of  God  through  his 
Son. 


^1 


THE   PREPARATION. 


43 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE  COMMON  FAITH  AND  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  SELF- 
RECOGNITION  IN  THAT  GENTILE  CHRISTIANITY 
WHICH   WAS   TO   DEVELOP   INTO   CATHOLICISM. 

Sources:  The  writings  of  the  so-called  Apostolic  Fathers, 
inferences  drawn  from  the  Works  of  the  Apologists  of  the  2d 
century  ;  Ritschl,  Entstehuug  der  alt-kath.  Kirche,  2.  Ed. 
1857 ;  Engelhardt,  Das  Christenthum  Justins,  1878 ;  Pflei- 
derer,  Das  Urchristenthum,  1887. 

1.  The  Christian  Communities  and  the  Church. 
— Both  tho  outlines  and  the  character  of  the  founda- 
tions of  Christianity  were  fixed  by  those  disciples  of 
thr  faith,  who  were  members  of  well-ordered  Chris- 
tian communities,  and  who  accepted  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  an  original  Divine  revelation  and  prized 
the  Gospel  tradition  as  a  free  message  for  all,  which 
should  be  kept  faithfully  pure.  Each  little  brother- 
hood should,  through  the  strength  of  its  faith,  the 
certainty  of  its  hope  and  the  holy  ordering  of  its  life, 
as  well  as  through  love  and  peace,  be  an  image  of 
the  holy  Church  of  God,  which  is  in  heaveji  and 
whose  members  are  scattered  over  the  earth;  it 
should,  also,  in  the  purity  of  its  daily  life  and  in  the 
genuineness  of  its  brotherly  kindness  be  an  ensample 
to  those  who  are  "without,"  i.e.  to  the  alien  world. 
In  the  recently  discovered  "  Teaching  of  the  Apos- 
tles "  we  come  upon  the  sphere  of  interest  in  those 
communities  who  had  not  yet  been  influenced  by 
philosophical  speculation.     They  awaited  the  return 


FixiiiK  of 
Outlines 

and  Char- 
iictcr  of 

t'hristiau- 
ity. 


I 


i 


ill  I 


1   ti;r 


111 


l.il 

III 


\     Mi 


44 


OUTLINES   OF  THE  HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


of  the  Christ,  and  urged  a  holy  life  ("Two  Ways," 
dependence  of  its  ethical  rules  upon  the  Jewish-Alex- 
andrian gnomic  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount)  and, 
without  outward  union  and  a  common  polity,  they 
recognized  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  new  and 
yet  original  creation  of  God,  to  the  Church,  which 
is  the  true  Eve,  the  Bride  of  the  heavenly  Christ 
(Tertull.  Apolog.  30 :  corpus  siimus  de  conscientia 
religionis  et  disciplinae  imitate  et  spei  foedere ; 

II.  Clem.  14  :  r:iii(v)\irs<i  To  y^ikr^na  tdu  izaTpo's  ijnuiv  ifTo/ie^^a 
ix  T^9  ixxXrjtT{a<^  r^s'  ~f'ii>rrjg  t^^'  Trvsu/iaruj^S",  t^?  ;:/)(>  7j?u<>u 
xai  rreXrj'^r^g  kxTt<riii'^ri<i  .  .  ,  ixxXrjffia  Zuxra  frcu/id  i.(TTi  X/)t- 
(TtoTj  '  }Jy£t  yap  tj  ypa^rj  •  iTZotrj/rs:^  o  fisv?  tu'^  avO{)io7:<iv  upaev 
xai  i^^rj).u  •   ru  apffzv  l<rT\v  6  Xpiaro^^  zv  ft^y^Xu  ij  IxxXr^nui^. 

2.  T]ip.  Foundations  of  the  Faith,  i.e.  of  the 
the  Faith.    cQnfcssions  respecting  the  One  God  and  Jesus  and 
also  the  Holy  Spirit,  were  laid  by  the  "  Christian- 
oi^^Jesta-  ized"  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  together  with  the 
apocalypses  and  the  ever  increasing  traditions  cour 
cerning  the  Christ  (his  ethical  and  eschatological  dis- 
courses, on  the  one  side,  and  the  proclamation  of 
the  history  of  Jesus  on  the  other).     Prophecy  was 
proven  by  theology.     Already  at  an  early  date  short 
Articles  of  articles  of  faith  had  been  formulated  (^  TrapddiKng,  o 

7:apad<n'h](;  Xnyng^  6  xa>u)v  rrjg  Tzapadoirsox?^  zd  XTJpoy/ia,  ij 
didaxTJ^  ij  Trc'fl-TJ?,  6  xaywv  t^?  r.laxs.ii}<i^  etc).      The  cliurch 

at  Rome  had  formulated  before  a. p.  150  the  foUow- 
P^jJ^i^®    ing  creed,  which  was  the  basis  for  all  future  creeds : 

7:i(Treuuj  eiV  Oedv  Tzaripa  TzavruxpaTopa  •  xai  er?  Xptarov 
WfjfrooVj  uluv  auTou  tuv  fxovayev^,  tov  xuptuv  rjfxwv,  tov  yevvT]- 


Founda- 
tions  of 


THE   PREPARATION. 


45 


IloyTio(>  IhkaToo  (Txaupio^thTa  xa\  raifivra^  zrjj  Tfiirrj  r^iiipa 
dvaffzdvTa  ix  vsx/uyy,  nva^d-iza  £;V  t<<u9  tioixv^tiu^j  xaf^rj /jlcvov  iv 
ds^tdt  TO'')  T.aT(u')<i^  uUtv  k'/t^erac  x/nvai  ^(bvza^  xai  vexfxn')'}  •  xai 
erV    TTvshjia    aytny^   dyiay    ixx?.rj(Tiav^   acfsniv    u/iafKiwv,   aapxu'i 

fhd(TTa(Tcv.     Everything  that  had  been  prophesied  con-     risp  of 

Court  of 

ceniing  the  Christ  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  Appeal. 
had  been  testified  concerning  him  in  the  primitive 
Gospel,  was  referred  back  to  the  concurrent  teach- 
ing and  testimony  of  the  twelve  apostles  {<^^<^<^x'^ 
xopiou  (hd  rwv  i{i  dr.onruXurJ) .  The  rise  of  this  court  ot 
appeal,  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  idea  of 
Catholic  tradition,  is  historically  obscure  and  rests 
upon  an  «  priori.  Of  like  authority,^  though  not 
identified  with  it,  is  Paul  with  his  Epistles,  which 
were,  moreover,  diligently  read. 
3.   The  Principal  Elements  of  Christianity  were    Main  Eie- 

iii'Mits  in 

faith  in  God,  the  o^^-^Jrvjc  and  in  his  Son,  on  the  chiistiau- 
ground  of  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  and  of  the  apos- 
tolic attested  teaching  of  the  Lord,  the  discipline  in 
accordance  with  the  standard  laid  down  by  the  Mas- 
ter, baptism  culminating  in  a  common  sacrificial 
prayer,  the  communion  meal,  and  the  certain  hope 
of  the  near  coming  of  Christ's  glorious  kingdom. 
The  confessions  of  faith  were  very  manifold ;  there 
was  not  as  yet  any  definite  doctrine  of  faith ;  imagi- 
nation, speculation  and  the  exclusively  spiritual 
interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament  had  the  widest 
range;  for  man  must  not  quench  the  Spirit.  In  the 
exercise  of  prayer  the  congregations  expressed  that 


^'U 


^ 


i  I 


I    .1 


li,i 


•i' 


46 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DO(iMA. 


Concrp- 

tions  of 

Salvation. 


Chiliasni. 


which  they  possessed  in  God  and  in  Christ ;  and  the 
duty  of  sacrificing  this  world  for  the  hoped-for  future 
appeared  as  the  practical  side  of  faith  itself.  The 
varying  conceptions  of  salvation  grouped  themselves 
about  two  centres,  which  were  only  loosely  con- 
nected ;  the  one  was  fixed  chiefly  by  the  disposition 
and  the  imagination,  the  other  by  the  intellect.  On 
the  one  side,  accordingly,  salvation  was  believed  to 
consist  in  the  approaching  glorious  kingdom  of 
Clirist,  which  should  bring  joy  upon  the  earth  to  the 
righteous  (this  realistic  Jewish  conception  was  de- 
rived directly  from  the  apocalypses:  Chiliasm,  and 
hence  the  interest  in  the  resurrection  of  the  physical 
body).  On  the  other  side,  salvation  was  held  to  con- 
^of  ood*^^  sist  in  a  definite  and  full  knowledge  of  God  (and  the 
world),  as  against  the  errors  of  heathenism;  and  this 
knowledge  disclosed  to  faith  (-rVrrr^)  and  hope  the 
gift  of  life  and  all  imaginable  blessings  (less  em- 
phasis was  accoidingly  placed  on  the  resurrection  of 
the  physical  body).  Of  these  blessings  the  brother- 
hood was  already  in  possession  of  the  forgiveness  of 
sin  and  of  righteousness,  in  so  far  as  theirs  was  a 
brotherhood  of  saints.  But  these  two  blessings  ap- 
peared to  be  endangered  as  to  their  worth  by  empha- 
sizing the  moral  point  of  view,  in  accordance  with 
which  eternal  life  is  looked  upon,  for  the  most  part, 
as  the  wages  and  the  reward  of  a  perfect  moral  life 
lived  in  one's  own  strength.  It  is  true  that  the 
thought  was  still  present,  that  sinlessness  rests  upon 
a  new  moral  creation  (the  new  birth)  which  is  real- 


•\Ioral 
View. 


8 


-i 


kl 


THE   PRETARATION. 


•47 


ap- 
|pha- 

dth 
)art, 

life 

the 

[•eal- 


ized  in  baptism ;  but  it  was  ever  in  danger  of  being 

crowded  out  by  the  other  thouglit,  that  there  are  no 

blessings  in  salvation  save  revealed  knowledge  and 

the  eternal  life,  but  rather  only  a  catalogue  jf  duties, 

in  which  the  Gospel  is  set  fv^rth  as  the  Xeiv  Lear  (as 

cetic  holiness  and  love) .    The  "  Christianizing  "  of  tlio    ooappi  as 

New  Law. 

Old  Testament  served  to  promote  this  Greek  concep- 
tion. The  idea,  it  is  true,  was  alreadj'  present  that 
the  Gospel,  in  so  far  as  it  is  law  (•'"'/'"^),  includes  the 

gift   of    salvation    {•-■'''.'""^   <'yz>)     X'-^yir)    dWiyAr^^; — ><)//.os'   ''7s' 

iXtuHtpia^ — Christ  himself  is  the  Law) ;  but  this  rep- 
resentation vv'.is  always  doubtful  and  was  gradually 
abandoned.  The  setting  forth  of  tlic  Gospel  under 
the  conceptions:  ^vw'rrs'  (God  and  world),  Ir^ayyElia 
(eternal  life),  '-'Oiw^  (moral  duty),  appeared  as  plain  as 
it  was  exhaustive,  and  in  every  relation  the  -((rzi-i  was 
held  to  be  confirmed,  since  it  exhibits  itself  in  knowl- 
edge as  well  as  in  hope  and  in  obedience;  but  in 
reality  it  is  only  ru<7rt<5  rr;?  xXrj<Tzu)^^  a  preparation,  be- 
cause the  blessings  of  salvation  (the  i^afnXeia  Toh  fhob 
as  well  as  the  d(p^'^ap(Tia)  are  conferred  in  the  future. 

In  this  hope  of  the  future,  salvation  is  set  forth 
as  realizing  itself  in  a  brotherhood,  while  in  the 
moral-gnostic  view  it  is  considered  as  an  individ- 
ual possession,  and  reward  and  punislunent  are 
represented  as  co-ordinated  with  it,  which  results  in 
emptying  the  conception  of  God  of  its  content.  The 
moral  view  of  sin,  forgiveness  and  righteousness  in 
Clement,  Barnabas  and  Polycarp  is  overlaid  by  Pau- 
line phrases  and  formulas ;  but  the  uncertainty  with 


Transition 
to  Moral- 
ism. 


.1* :  :i 


i.:j 


M 


I 


r 


ii 


iri 


1 1 

•  i 
I 

'ii;: 

i 
111 


i 


48 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


Iiitluonce 
of  Old 


which  these  are  quoted  indicates  that  they  were  not 
really  understood.  In  Hermas  and  II.  Clement  the 
ground  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  is  the  spontaneous 
energizing  ncrdxna.  The  wide-spread  idea  that  griev- 
ous sins  could  not  be  forgiven  those  who  had  been 
baptized,  but  that  light  sins  might  be  condoned, 
indicates  tlie  complete  transition  to  a  barren,  theo- 
retical moralisni,  which  was,  however,  still  overlaid 
by  an  apocalyptic  enthusiasm. 
4.  The  Old  Ttstainent  as  the  Source  of  the  Knoivl- 
Testament,  g^/^g  ^^  Fciith  Contributed,  (1)  to  the  development  of 
the  monotheistic  cosmology,  (•?)  to  the  setting  forth  of 
the  proofs  of  prophecy  and  of  the  anticjuity  of  Chris- 
tianity ("older  than  the  world"),  {'<))  to  the  establish- 
fng  of  all  tlio  ecclesiastical  ideas,  rights  and  cere- 
monies, which  were  considered  necessary,  (4)  to  the 
deepening  of  the  life  of  faith  (Psalms  and  prophetical 
fragments),  (e'l)  to  the  refuting  of  Judaism  as  a 
nation,  i.e.  to  the  proving  that  this  people  had  been 
cast  off  by  God,  and  that  they  had  either  never  bad 
any  covenant  with  him  (Barn:: has),  or  had  had  a 
co'^enant  of  wrath,  or  had  forfeited  their  covenant : 
that  they  had  never  understood  the  Old  Testameut  and 
were  therefore  now  deprived  of  it,  if,  indeed,  they 
had  ever  been  in  possession  of  it  (ths  attitude  of  the 
Church  as  a  whole  toward  the  Jewisli  people  and 
their  history  appears  to  have  been  originally  as  in.- 
definite  as  the  attitude  of  the  gnostics  toward  the 
Old  Testament;).  Attempts  to  correct  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  to  give  it  j  Christian  sense  were  not  want- 


i!i 


THE   PREPARATION. 


49 


Ood  la 
CiTiitor, 


ing;  in  the  formation  of  tho  Now  Testament  there 
were  rudimentary  efforts  toward  this  end. 

5.  Faith  Kuowledge  was  above  all  a  knowledge 
of  God  as  the  only  supernatural,  spiritual  and  al-  \'J|.jyy,,',"','.' 
mighty  Being:   God   is  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of 
the  world   and   is  therefore  the   Lord.     But   inas- 
much as  ho  created  the  world  as  a  beautiful,  well- 
ordered  whole  (monotheistic  theory  of  nature)   for 
tho  sake  of  man,  he  is  at  the  same  time  the  God 
of  goodness  and  of  redemption    {''-:'\^  (>o)Trj/>)^   and 
only  through  the  knowledge  of  the  identity  of  the 
Creator  and   Redeemer  God   does  faith  in  God  as 
the  Father  reach  its  perfection.     Redemption,  how- 
ever, was  necessary,  because  mankind  and  the  world 
in  the  very  beginning  fell  under  the  dominion  of 
demons.     A  general   and  acceptable  theory  in   re- 
gaxd  to  the  origin  of  this  dominion  did  by  no  means 
exist;  but  the  conviction  was  fixed  and  universal, 
that  the  present  condition  and  course  of  the  world  is 
not  of  God,  but  of  the  devil.     Still,  faith  in  the  al- 
mighty Creator,  and  hope  in  the  restoration  of  tho 
c{U'th  did  not  allow  theoretical  dualism  to  make  any 
lieadw\ay  and  practical  dualism  dominated.     Tho 
world  is  good  and  belongs  to  God,  but  the  present 
course  of  it  is  of  the  devil.     Thus  men's  thoughts  os- 
cillated between   the  conception  of  the  world   as  a 
beautiful  and  orderly  whole,  and  the  impression  of 
the  present  evil  course  of  things,  of   the   baseness 
of  the  sensuous  and  of  the  dominion  of  demons  in 
the  world. 


Dominion 

of  D»"MUDS. 


rraotical 
Duaii.sm. 


■L 


||    '||M' 


50 


OUTLINES   OF  TIIK   IIISTOIfY   OF   DO(iMA. 


!l! 


it 

'    -I 
I'   \ 


18,:  I 
il 

i 


i- 


.Tori IK  Is 
I. (Ill I  ami 

Kaviciir 
Uko  (ioil, 


Titles 

01  von  to 

Josus. 


Son  of 
God. 


G.  Faith  in  Jesus  (lirisi  as  the  Redcrmer  was 
closely  identified  with  faith  in  (lod  as  the  Kodeenier. 
Jesus  is  x>)f>ti><s  and  Tonrj/i  like  Ood,  and  the  same 
words  were  often  used  without  indicatinj^  whether 
the  reference  was  to  him  or  to  God;  for  in  the  Ke- 
voaler  and  Mediator  of  salvation  (Jesus),  the  Author 
(God)  is  represented  (the  ])uriiose  of  salvation  and 
the  revelation  of  it  coincide);  prayer,  however,  was 
made  to  God  through  Christ.  This  title  given  to  Jesus 
("  Christ ")  became  indeed  a  mere  name,  since  there 
was  no  real  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  "  Messiah." 
Therefore  the  Gentile  Christians  were  obliged 
through  other  moans  to  find  expressions  for  the  dig- 
nity of  Jesus ;  but  they  possessed  in  the  full  eschato- 
logical  traditions  valuable  reminiscences  of  the  orig- 
inal apprehension  of  the  Person  of  Josus.  In  the 
confession  that  God  has  chosen  and  specially  pre- 
pared Jesus,  that  ho  is  the  "Angel"  and  "Servant" 
of  God,  and  that  ho  shall  judge  mankind,  and  simi- 
lar expressions,  other  utterances  were  made  concern- 
ing Jesus,  which  sprang  from  the  fundamental  idea 
that  he  was  the  "Christ"  calliMl  of  God  and  en- 
trusted with  an  office.  In  addition  there  was  a 
traditional,  though  not  common,  reference  to  him  as 
"The  Teacher." 

The  title  "  Son  of  God  "  (not  "  Son  of  Man  ")  was 
traditional,  and  was  maintained  without  any  waver- 
ing. Out  of  this  grew  directly  the  conception  that 
Jesus  belongs  to  the  sphere  of  God  and  that  one 
must  think  of  him  "  ^s-  -£/>[  if-ob  "     (II.  Clem.  1).     In 


THE    I'KKI'AKATION. 


51 


this  plirnsiiif?  of  it  the  indirect  thcoloqia  Chvisfi,  in 
7r(jar(l  /o  icliich  fhcre  tras  no  ivarcrinfj,  found  ox- 
proswion  in  classical  forms.  It  is  necessary  t(»  think 
of  Jesus  as  one  thinks  of  God,  (1)  because  he  is  the 
God-exalted  Lord  and  Judge,  {'I)  because  he  brought 
true  knowledge  and  life  and  has  delivered  mankind 
from  the  dominion  of  demons,  from  error  and  sin,  or 
will  deliver  them.  Therefore  he  is  n<o-rj/>,  x''y'J"s',  >^s'k 
y^/jicov,  dei  Jilius  ac  dciis,  ih>nii)in8  ac  dens,  but  not  'l 
ff:<>,\  He  is  "our  Hoi)e,"  ''our  Faith,"  the  High- 
Priest  of  our  prayers,  and  "our  Life." 

Starting  from  this  basis  there  were  divers  theoi'ies  ThoorioH  -^f 
in  regard  to  the  Person  of  Jesus,  which  however  all  J*?sus- 
bore  a  certain  analogy  to  the  niiive  and  the  philo- 
sophical Greek  "  theologies",  but  there  wore  no  uni- 
versally accepted  "  doctrines''.  We  may  distinguish 
here  two  princi})al  types:  Jesus  was  looked  ujjon  as 
the  man  whom  God  had  chosen  and  in  whom  the 
Spirit  of  God  (the  Godhead  itself)  dwelt;  he  was, 
in  accordance  with  his  own  testimony,  adopted  by 
God  and  clothed  wn"th  authority  {Adoption  Chris- 
totof/f/) ;  or  Jesus  was  looked  upon  as  a  heaveidy 
spiritual  Being  (the  highest  heavenly  spiritual 
Being  next  to  God),  who  became  incarnate  and 
after  the  completion  of  his  work  upon  the  earth 
returned  to  the  heavens  {Pnevmatic  Christolof/y ;  Twociuis 
the  transition  here  to  the  Logos  Christologij  was 
easy).  These  two  different  C^hristologies  (the  D(m- 
fied  mari  and  the  Divine  Being  appearing  in  the 
f(jrm  of   a  man)  were  however  brought  closely  to- 


tologies. 


fr'A 


■I 


,!'! 


: 


^ 


; 


1        1 


! 


52 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   IIISTOKY    OF   DOUMA. 


gothor  HO  Hoon  as  tli(>  i!ni)lanto(l  Spirit  of  Ood  in 
the  niiin  Jesus  was  lookod  upon  as  tho  pro-oxistont 
Son  of  (iod  (Hernias),  and  so  soon  as  tho  titlo  "Son 
of  0)d,"  as  ai)pli(3d  to  that  spiritual  Being,  was 
derived  from  his  (miraculous)  incarnation — both, 
however,  were  maintained.  Notwithstanding  these 
transition  forms  the  two  Christologies  may  he  clearly 
distinguished :  In  the  one  case  the  election  (emphasis 
npon  the  miraculous  occurrence  at  the  baptism)  and 
the  exaltation  to  God  are  characteristic ;  in  the  other, 

Niiivt.  Do-  a  naive  docetism ;  for  as  yet  there  was  no  two- 
nature  theory  (Jesus'  divinity  was  looked  upon  as 
a  gift,  or  else  his  human  form  as  a  temporary  taber- 
nacle). Tho  declaration:  Jesus  was  a  mere  man 
{ir'nXu's  avOfno-i)^)  was  undoubtedly  from  the  beginning 
and  always  highly  objectionable;  likewise  was  the 
denial  of  the  "  l'-'  ^'//'X£'" ;  but  the  theories  which  iden- 

Niiivft  Mo-  titled  tho  Person  of  Jesus  with  the  Godhead  (naive 

dill  ism.  ^ 

modalism)  were  not  cast  aside  with  the  same  assur- 
ance. A  formal  theonj  of  the  identity  of  God  and 
Jesus  does  not  seem  to  have  been  wide-spread  in  the 
Church  at  large.  The  acceptance  of  the  existence  at 
least  of  one  heavenly,  eternal,  spiritual  Being  close 
to  God  was  demanded  outright  by  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures,  as  men  understood  them,  so  that  all 
were  constrained  to  recognize  this^  whether  or  not 
they  had  any  basis  for  reconciling  their  Christology 
with  that  heavenly  Being. 
Pneumatic  Tho  pnoumatic  Christology  was  always  found 
ogy.       wherever  men  gave  themselves  to  the  study  of  the 


THE   rUKPAHATloK. 


53 


was 


found 
^f  the 


Old  TcHtamont  and  whorovor  faitli  in  C'hrist  hr  tho 
c'oniplcto  revelation  of  God  was  tlic  forcmoHt  tliou{^ht, 
i.e.  it  is  found  in  <tll  the  important  and  iMlucated 
Christian  writers  (not  in  Hernias,  but  in  Clenu»nt, 
Harnahas,  Ignatius,  vie.  ).  Because  this  (Mn-istol- 
ogy  seemed  to  he  directly  demtinded  by  the  Old  Tes- 
tament as  then  exjMjunded,  l)ecau8o  it  alone  united 
and  reconciled  creation  and  re<lemption,  because  it 
furnished  the  proof  that  the  world  and  religion  have 
the  same  Divine  Source,  because  the  most  est('<'med 
primitive  Scriptures  champiimed  it,  and,  hnally,  be- 
cause it  gave  room  for  the  introduction  of  the  Logos- 
speculation,  it  was  the  Cliristology  of  the  future. 
The  adoption  Christology,  however,  proved  itself 
insufficient  over  against  the  consideration  of  the  re- 
lation of  religion  to  tho  cosmos,  to  humanity  and 
its  history,  as  well  as  over  against  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. And  the  advocates  of  the  pneumatic  C*hris- 
tology  did  not  set  it  forth  as  a  doubtful  theologu- 
menon;  their  expositions  of  it  (Clement,  Ignatius, 
Barnabas,  Justin),  on  the  contrary,  indicate  that 
they  could  not  conceive  of  a  Christianitj^  without 
faith  m  the  divine  spiritual  Being,  Christ.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  the  liturgical  fragments  and  prayers 
that  have  come  down  to  us,  we  find  little  reference 
to  the  pre-existence ;  it  sufficed  that  Jesus  is  now 
the  xufitd^  to  whom  prayer  may  be  addressed. 

The  representations  of  the  work  of  Christ  (Christ 
as  teacher:  Giving  of  knowledge,  proclaiming  of 
the  new  law;  Christ  as  Saviour:  Giving  of  life,  con 


A(Ioi)ti()n 
Cliristul- 


Christ  as 
Teacher 
uuil  Sav- 
iour. 


w 


>, 


'.;     I 


I 


<*<     ii' 


i.  I' 

I  r 


Sj  .    I. 


I 


fu  lin- 


Exap 
atfi 
portanoe 
(jiven  to 
Facts. 


54 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISiORY   OF   DOCiMA, 


qiiering  of  demons,  forgiving  of  past  sins  in  the  time 
of  error)  were  connected  by  some  (following  cv-  ^nt 
tradition,  using  the  Pauline  Epistles)  with  his  death 
and  resurrection,  by  others  they  were  affirmed  with- 
out direct  reference  to  these  facts.  Independent  re- 
flections upon  +he  close  union  of  the  saving  work  of 
Clirist  with  the  facts  set  forth  in  his  preaching  are 
nowhere  found;  and  yet  the  representation  of  the 
free  endurance  of  suffering,  of  the  cross,  and  of  the 
blood  of  Christ,  was  accepted  in  many  communities 
PS  a  holy  mysterium,  in  which  the  deepest  wisdom 
and  power  of  the  Gospel  is  concealed  (Ignatius), 
although  the  death  on  tae  cross  and  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  were  by  no  means  everywhere  (as  in  Clement, 
Polycarp  and  Barnabas)  Inseparably  joined  together 
(Hermas  knows  nothing  whatever  about  such  a 
union).  The  peculiarity  and  the  individuality  of  the 
work  of  the  historical  Christ  were  moreover  menaced 
I  y  the  idea  that  Christ  had  been  the  revealer  of  God 
in  the  Old  Testament. 

All  the  facts  pertaining  to  the  history  of  Jesus, 
tlie  real  and  the  imagined,  received  an  exaggerated 
significance  when  reiterated  in  the  work  of  instruc- 
tion and  when  attacked  bv  heretics.  To  the  mirac- 
n.lous  birth,  death,  resurrection,  exaltation  and  return, 
v/as  added  definitely  now  the  ascension  on  the  40th 
day  and,  less  definitely,  the  descent  into  hell,  while 
the  history  of  the  baptism  was  more  and  more  ig- 
nored. The  reality  of  these  occurrences  was  strongly 
emphasized ;  but  they  had  not  yet  become  "  dogmas" ; 


HI 


»' .. 


THE   i  REPARATION. 


55 


IIC- 

ac- 
lirn, 
0th 
lile 

ig- 


}S 


ly 


for  thty  were  neither  insepariibly  connectetl  with  th« 
idea  of  salvation,  nor  were  they  definitely  outlined, 
nor  was  ilm  fcuitasie  restricted  in  its  artistic  exuber- 
ance. 

7.  That  the  Worship  of  God  should  be  a  pure,  worship, 
spiritual  exercise,  without  ceremonies,  was  taken  for 
granted.  Every  divine  service  was  looked  upon  as 
a  spiritual  offering  (of  thanks)  accompanied  with 
fasting  and  deeds  of  compassionate  love.  The 
Lord's  Supper  (eucharist)  was  held  to  be  an  offering  ^uuv^t. 
in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word,  and  e^'orything 
which  was  associated  with  it  {e.(j.  assistance  of 
tlie  poor)  became  imbued  with  the  idea  of  sacrifice. 
Thenceforward  the  institutional  idea  found  a  wide 
range,  notwithstanding  the  essential  spirituality  of 
w^orshii).  Starting  with  the  idea  of  the  symbolical^ 
"  mysteries  "  which  were  so  necessary  to  the  Greeks 
were  soon  established.  Baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Baptism. 
Father,  Son  and  Spirit  w^as  esteemed  as  the  mystery 
through  which  the  sins  of  blindness  are  wholly  set 
aside,  and  which  only  thenceforward,  however, 
irni)0ses  obligations  (mortal  sins,  committed  after 
baptism,  were  considered  unpardonable,  and  yet 
})ardoning  power  was  reserved  for  G(jd  who  here 
and  there  exercises  it  upon  the  earth  through  in- 
spired men.  The  idea  and  practice  of  a  "sec- 
ond repentance"  were  born  through  the  stress  of 
necessity,  became  however  wide-spread,  and  were 
then  established  by  the  prophetical  book  of  Hernias). 
Baptism  was  called  'riffxiyii  and  (fioTiaiw^  (no  infant 


k! 


MWMMJWPMpI 


III    '1  ! 


* 


i: 


I '  '"\ 


,1     ■■■! 


H  9     fi     i! 


5G 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


I);il)tism);  tlio  uniting  of  baptism  with  the  gift  of 
th(j  Holy  Spirit  became  somewhat  uncertain.  The 
LorcVs  Supper  was  viewed  as  (pd[)imxuv  dfhvmnia^i^  as 
a  mysterious  communication  of  gnosis  and  of  life 
(see  the  eucharistic  prayer  in  the  Didache;  tiie  for- 
giveness of  sins  is  not  there  mentioned) ;  it  was  at 
once  a  communion  meal  and  a  sacrificial  meal. 
Realism  Realism  and  symbolism  were  here  mingled  together, 
boiisiii.  j^^^^  jjj^  were  the  ideas  of  grace  and  of  sacrificial 
offering.  Hellenic  conceptions  early  crowded  in  here 
(see  Ignatius,  Justin,  Apol.  I.,  the  close). 

Church  organization^  as  such,  exercised  no  in- 
fluence upon  the  form  of  the  statement  of  belief  until 
about  the  year  150.  And  yet  the  high  esteem  in 
which  the  apostles,  prophets  and  teachers  were  held 
laid  the  foundation  for  future  developments;  besides, 
Ignatius  had  already  declared  that  the  attitude 
toward  the  bishop  determined  the  attitude  toward 
God  and  toward  Christ,  and  other  teachers  insisted 
that  one  must  follow  the  "ancients",  the  disciples 
of  the  apostles,  in  all  things. 


Clinrch  Or- 
guuizutiuu. 


Catholic 
Systt'in  of 

Doctrine 
iu  Embryo. 


This  survey  indicates  that  tae  decisive  premises 
for  the  evolution  of  the  Catholic  system  of  doctrine 
were  already  in  existence  before  the  middle  of  the  2d 
century  and  before  the  heated  contest  with  gnosti- 
cism. 

The  records  which  have  come  down  to  us  from 
the  1st  century  of  the  Gentile  Church  are  of  a  very 


I 


j 


THE   PREPARATION. 


57 


111  SOS 

trine 
e  2d 
osti- 

It'rom 
very 


I. 

1 


Didaohe. 


Barnabas- 
Epistle. 


varied  character  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  his- 
tory of  dogma.  In  the  Didache  we  have  a  catechism 
for  the  Christian  life,  dependent  upon  a  Jewish- 
Greek  catechism,  and  bringing  out  in  the  prayers 
and  ecclesiastical  discipline  that  which  is  specifically 
Christian.  The  Bainabas-Epistle,  probably  of  Al- 
exandrian origin,  teaches  the  correct  (Christian) 
interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament,  casts  aside 
verbal  interpretation  and  Judaism  as  of.  the  devil, 
and  follows  Paul  essentiall}''  as  regards  Christology. 
The  same  Christology  is  represented  in  the  Roman 
1.  Clement-Epistle,  which  also  contains  Pauline 
reminiscences  (in  regard  to  atonement  and  justifi- 
cation), but  these  are  conceived  from  the  moral 
standpoint.  It  is  classically  represented  in  Hennas 
Pastor  and  in  the  II.  Clement-Epistle,  where  the 
eschatological  element  is  also  very  prominent.  The 
Clu'istology  of  the  former  is  the  adoption;  the 
author  of  the  11.  Clem.  Epist.  has  no  consistent 
Christolojy,  but  follows  various  motives.  The  the- 
ology of  Ignatius  is  the  most  advanced,  in  so  far  as 
he,  in  the  contest  with  the  gnostics,  made  the  facts 
of  salvation  prominent  and  drew  his  ow^n  gnosis 
from  the  history  of  Christ  rather  than  from  the  Old 
Testament.  He  sought  to  make  Jesus  Christ,  xfira 
7:viT)fia  and  xaTd  ffdpxa^  the  centre  of  Christianity.  The 
Epistle  of  Polycarp  is  characteristic  on  account  of  its  ^V'y^ll'^'J^P 
dependence  upon  earlier  Christian  writings  (Paul's 
Epistles,  I.  Peter,  I.  John),  and  on  account  of  its 
conservative  attitude  toward  the  most  valuable  tra 


I.  Cltv 
meut. 


Hennas 

I'astor, 

n.  fle- 

iiieut. 


)^1 


hi 


w  -i 


!!l| 


''ii 


i:' 


!i  ■'  !■ 


it  I 


j!    ,; ; 


•'   ill' 

'it! 


-i;i 


':  ^;t 


58 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


Preedicatio  ditions.    Tho  ZVT^(//r'rt//o /V//"/ maiks  tlie  transition 

Petri. 

from  the  primitive  Christian  literary  activity  to  tho 
apologetic  writers  (Christ  as  v'v^'^?  and  /'Y"^')- 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  ATTEMPT  OF  THE  GNOSTICS  TO  CONSTRUCT  AN 
APOSTOLIC  DOCTRINE  OF  FAITH  AND  TO  PRO- 
DUCE A  CHRISTIAN  THEOLOGY ;  OR,  THE  ACUTE 
SECULARIZATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Sources :  The  writings  of  Justin  and  the  early  Catholic 
Fathers,  together  with  Ei)iphanius  and  Theodoret.  Frag- 
ments collected  by  Hilgenfeld,  Ketzergesch,  1884.  Descrip- 
tions by  Neandei-,  Gnostisclie  System,  1818,  Baur,  Gnosis, 
1835,  Lipsius,  Gnosticismus,  1800,  Moeller,  Kosmologie  in 
der  griech.  Kirche,  1860;  ride  also  Renan,  Hist.  des.  Orig. 
du  Christianisme",  T.  V.-VII. 


Gnosti- 
cism. 


Aims  at  a 

World -He- 

ligion. 


1 .  Gnosticis:j  is  a  manifestation  of  the  great  syn- 
cretic movement  of  the  2d  and  3d  centuries,  which 
was  occasioned  by  the  interchange  of  national  relig- 
ions, by  the  contact  of  Orient  and  Occident,  and  by 
the  influence  of  Greek  philosophy  upon  religion  in 
general.  It  aimed  at  the  winning  of  a  irovld-relig- 
io7i,  in  which  men  should  be  rated,  not  on  the  basis 
of  citizenship,  but  according  to  the  standard  of  their 
intellectual  and  moral  aptitude.  The  Gospel  was  rec- 
ognized as  a  world-religion  only  in  so  far  as  it  could 
be  severed  from  the  Old  Testament  religion  and  the 
Old  Testament,  and  be  moulded  by  the  religious 
philosophy  of  the  Greeks  and  grafted  upon  the 
existing  cultus-wisdom  and  practice  of  occult  mys- 


li:; 


i>y 


)asia 

their 

rec- 

lonld 

the 
lions 

the 


THE   PUKPARATION. 


59 


.Jt'w  ish 
ila. 


C'liristian 

(inosis. 


teries.  The  moans  Ity  which  this  artificial  iiiiioii 
was  to  he  hroiiglit  about  was  the  allegorical  method  '^^/^.^[ll^'ip' 
as  used  long  since  by  the  Greek  religious  philoso 
pliers.  The  possibility  of  the  rise  of  a  Christian 
gnosticism  ki}^  in  this,  that  the  Christian  commu- 
nities had  everywhere  fallen  heir  to  the  heritage  of 
the  Jewish  propaganda,  where  there  vris  alrtnidy  an 
exuberant  tendenc}'  to  spiritualize  the  C)ld  Testament 
religion,  and  where  the  intellectual  interesi,  in  relig- 
ion had  long  been  unbridled.  Besides,  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  especlall}"  Christ  himself,  had  made  such 
an  overwhelming  impression  that  men  were  pos- 
sessed bj  the  strongest  impulse  to  subordinate  their 
highest  conceptions  to  him,  whence,  as  so  often,  the 
"victus  victori  legem  daf''  attained  its  right.  Fi- 
nally the  Christian  preaching  from  the  beginning 
promised  a  gnosis  of  the  wisdom  of  God,  espe 
cially  that  of  Paul  an  antinomian  gnosis,  and  the 
churches  in  the  empire  conceived  the  Christian 
wisdom  as  /.oyuii  hiTinia^  in  accordance  with  their 
Greek  conceptions;  they  combined  the  mysterious 
with  a  marvellous  openness,  the  spiritual  with  the 
most  significant  rites,  and  sought  in  this  waj-,  jiy^tt. 
through  their  organization  and  through  their  "  phil- 
osophical life",  to  realize  that  ideal  for  which  tlie 
Hellenic  religious  spirit  was  then  striving, — namely, 
a  communion,  or  fellowship,  which,  upon  the  basis 
of  a  Divine  revelation,  comes  into  the  possession  of 
the  highest  knowledge  and  therefore  realizes  the 
holiest  life,  and  which  communicates  this  knowledge, 


rioua 


Kites. 


'\ 


'•r 


J 

!      '! 
I 


II 


I 


I    I 


I   i  I! 


Acute 

Staj^f  of 
Process. 


60 


OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


lU 


)t   tl 


tori( 


iroiigh  nitional  discussion,  but  tlirougb  m}''^- 
efficacious  consecrations  and  revealed  doc- 


Attempt  to 

Fuso 
Cluistian- 

ity  aiul 
Helleuism. 


Christian- 
ity Be- 
comes Oc- 
cult Tlieos- 
ophy. 


lOUS 

trines, 

2.  We  are  now  prepared  to  assert,  that  in  gnos- 
ticism the  acute  stage  of  a  process  was  reached, 
which  began  early  in  the  Church  and  which  under- 
went a  slow  and  distinct  evolution  under  the  Catho- 
lic system.  The  gnostics  were  the  theologians  of 
the  1st  century;  they  were  the  first  to  transform 
Christianity  into  a  system  of  doctrines  (dogmas); 
they  were  the  first  to  treat  tradition  and  the  primitive 
Christian  Scriptures  systematically ;  they  undertook 
to  set  forth  Christianity  as  the  absolute  religion,  and 
they  therefcjre  placed  it  in  opposition  to  the  other  re- 
ligions, to  that  of  the  Old  Testament  as  well  (not  alone 
to  Judaism) ;  but  the  absolute  religion,  which  they 
coupled  with  Christ,  was  to  them  essentially  identical 
with  the  results  of  the  philosophy  of  religion, for  which 
they  had  now  found  the  basis  in  a  revelation :  They 
were  accordingly  a  class  of  Christians  who  essayed 
through  a  sharp  onset  to  conquer  Christianity  for 
Hellenic  culture,  and  Hellenic  culture  for  Christian- 
ity, and  they  thereby  abandoned  the  Old  Testament 
in  order  to  fitly  close  up  the  breach  between  the  two 
opposing  forces.  Christianity  became  an  occult  the- 
osophy  (revealed  metaphysics  and  apparition  philos- 
ophy, permeated  witl:  the  Platonic  spirit  and  with 
Pauline  ideas,  constructed  out  of  the  material  of 
an  old  cultus-wisdom  which  was  acquired  through 
mysteries  and  the  illumined  understanding,  defined 


\ 


1 


THE   PREPARATION. 


01 


by  a  keen  and,  in  part,  true  criticism  of  the  Old 
Testament  religion  and  the  scant  faith  of  the  Church. 
Consequently  one  is  obliged  to  verify  in  the  promi- 
nent gnostic  schools  the  Semitic  cosmological  prin- 
ciples,  the    Hellenic    philosophical   ideas    and    the 
knowledge  of  the  redemption  of  the  world  througli 
Christ.     And  one  must  also  take  account  of  these 
three  factors:    The  speculative    philosophical,    the 
cultish-mystical  and  the  dualistic -ascetic.     The  con- 
junction of  these  elements,  the  entire  transformation 
of  every  ethical  problem  into  a  cosmological  prob- 
lem and,  finally,  the  view  that  human  history  is 
but  a  continuation  of  natural  history,  especially  that 
redemption  is  but  the  last  act  in  the  drama  which 
had  its  origin  in  the  Godhead  itself  and  its  develop- 
ment in   the  world — all   these  are  not  peculiar  to 
gnosticism,  but  a  stage  in  the  general  development 
which  was  in  manj-  ways  related  to  Philonism  and 
which  anticipated  Neo-Platonism  and  Catholicism. 
Out  of  the  crass  mythology  of  an  Oriental  religion, 
by  the  transformation  of  the  concrete  forms   into 
speculative  and  ethical  ideas,  such  as  "  Abyss",  "  Si- 
lence", "Logos",  "Wisdom",  "Life"   (the   Semitic 
names  were  often  retained),  tliere  was  formed  a  my- 
tliology  of  notions  in  which  the  juxtaposition  and  the 
number  of  these  ideas  were  determined  by  the  pro- 
pounding of  a  scheme.     Thus  was  produced  a  philo- 
sophical, dramatico-poetic  representation  similar  to 
the  Platonic,  but  far  more  complicated  and  therefore 
more  fantastical,  in  which  those  mighty  powers,  the 


Three 
Factors. 


Philosoph- 
ic Draniat- 
ico-Poetic 
Sj'Sttiin. 


(1   ' 

I 


'  t 


*~h\ 


62 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


!  .' 


f    I  il 


4-. ! 


flnspol 

History 

AllfKOfi- 

cal. 


Absti- 
iicnoi!  thi 


spiritual  and  the  good,  appeared  to  have  been  brought 
into  an  unholy  alliance  with  the  material  and  the 
base,  from  which  however  finally  the  spiritual,  as- 
sisted by  kindred  pov^ors  wl,  'ch  are  too  exalted  ever 
U  be  abased,  ',.i  if(oi  ;i]l  it  ad  r^id  free.  Tnc  good 
and  the  heavenly  w'lici.  i  !'  /raded  to  the  material 
is  the  human  spirit;  and  the  . ;  llime  Power  which 
sets  it  free  is  the  Christ.  The  Gospel  history  is  not 
the  history  of  Christ,  but  a  collection  of  allegorical 
representations  of  the  groat  Divine  world-history. 
Christ  has  in  truth  no  history;  h;s  appearance  in 
this  world  of  confusion  and  delusion  is  his  own  act 
and  the  enlightenment  of  the  Spirit,  as  regards  itself, 
is  the  effect  of  this  act.  This  illumination  itself  is 
life,  but  it  is  dependent  upon  asceticism  and  upon  a 
surrender  to  the  mysteries  ordained  b}^  Christ,  in 
which  one  conies  into  communion  with  a  praesens 
nunien,  and  which  in  a  mysterious  way  gradually  free 
the  spirit  from  the  world  of  sense.  This  spiritualiz- 
ing process  should  also  be  actively  cultivated.  Absti- 
WiUcii-cry.  uQuce  is  therefore  the  watch-cry.  Christianity  is 
accordingly  a  speculative  philosophy  which  redeems 
the  si)irit  {y^Afrc;  (r<oTr^f)ta<:)^  inasmuch  as  it  enlight- 
ens and  consecrates  it  and  directs  it  unto  the  true 
way  of  life.  The  gnosis  is  free  from  the  rational- 
istic interest  of  the  stoa.  The  powers  which  give 
vigor  and  life  to  the  spirit  rule  in  the  supersensible 
world.  The  only  guide  to  this  world  is  a  iidf^rjtrif; 
(not  exact  philosophy)  resting  upon  a  revelation  and 
allied  with  iio<szaYa>yia.     The  fundamental  principles 


\\ 


THE  PrtEPARATION. 


e3 


free 
laliz- 

bsti- 

-y  is 
eems 
ight- 


glVG 

sible 

and 
iples 


aro  accordingly  liio  following:  M)  The  supersensi- 
ble indefinite  and  eternal  nature  of  the  divine  pri- 
mordial Being,  ("^)  the  eA'il  (not  real)  matter  opposed 
to  the  d:  v^ino  iJeing,  {'])  the  plenitude  of  the  divine 
powers  (eons)  which,  viewed  partly  as  powers,  partly 
as  real  ideas,  partly  as  relatively  independent  beings, 
represent  in  stages  the  development  and  revelation 
of  the  Divinity,  but  which  at  the  same  time  are 
intended  to  make  possible  the  transition  from  the 
higher  to  the  lower,  (1)  the  cosmos  as  a  mixture  of 
matter  with  sparks  of  the  divine  Being,  and  whici: 
originated  from  the  descent  of  the  latter  into  the 
former,  i.e.  from  a  reprehensible  undertaking  of  a 
subordinate  spirit,  merely  through  the  Divine  suf- 
ferance, (5)  the  freeing  of  the  spiritual  elements  from 
their  union  with  matter,  or  the  separation  of  the 
good  from  the  sensuous  world  through  the  Christ- 
Spirit,  which  is  active  in  holy  consecrations,  knowl- 
edge and  asceticism — thus  arises  the  complete  gnos- 
tic, the  independent  world-free  spirit,  who  lives  in 
God  and  prepares  himself  for  eternity.  The  rest  of 
mankind  arc  earth-born  (liylikers).  Yet  leading 
teachers  (School  of  Valentinus)  distinguish  also  be- 
tween hylikers  and  psychikers ;  the  latter  were  the 
doers  of  the  lavr,  who  lived  by  law  and  faith,  for 
whom  the  common  faith  is  good  enough,  that  is, 
necessary.  The  centre  of  gravity  of  the  gnostic 
S3',qtem  did  not  r3st  in  its  changing  details,  which 
iwe  so  imperfectly  known  to  us,  but  in  its  aim  and 
in  its  postulates. 


Funda- 
mental 
Principled. 


Ilylik.'fs 
(umI  Psy- 
chikers. 


I 

I 


i  . 


i  I 


r  w 


:\    I! 


riinHos  of 

(InoHti- 

ciHUi. 


^^um 


nasi  lid- 
inns.  Val- 
ontiniaus. 


Tlx'  First 

'I'll'Mllo- 

Kiaiis. 


04 


OUTLINES   OK   TIIK    HISTORY    OK    IXXiMA. 


;j.  The  phases  of  gnosticism  were  }is  variegated  as 
possible  (brotherhoods,  ascetic  orders,  cultus  of  mys- 
teries, secret  schools,  free  devotional  associations, 
performances  by  Christian  swindlers  and  betrayed 
betrayers,  attempts  to  establish  new  religions  after 
the  pattern  and  under  the  influence  of  the  Christian 
religion).  Accordingly  the  relation  of  gnosticism 
to  that  which  was  common  to  all  Christians  and  to 
the  individual  Christian  communities  was  exceed- 
ingly varied.  On  the  one  hand,  gnosticism  pene- 
trated to  the  very  heart  of  those  Christian  churches 
in  which  docetic  and  dualistic-ascetic  influences 
were  largely  at  work  and  where  there  was  a  strong 
tendency  to  vary  the  original  form  of  the  kerygma; 
on  the  other  hand,  there  were  gnostic  communities 
that  remained  apart  and  indeed  abhorred  all  alliances 
with  others.  For  the  history  of  dogma  the  right 
wing  of  gnosticism  and  the  real  stem,  the  great 
gnostic  school  sects  (Basilidians,  Valentinians)  come 
especially  under  consideration.  The  latter  wished 
to  establish  a  higher  order  of  Christians  above  the 
common  psychikers,  who  were  barely  endured.  The 
contest  was  mainly  with  these  and  they  were  the 
theologians  from  whom  later  generations  learned 
and  were  the  first  to  write  elementary  works  on 
dogmatics,  ethics,  and  scientific  and  exegetical  trea- 
tises; in  short,  they  laid  the  foundations  of  Chris- 
tian theological  literature  and  began  the  elaboration 
of  Christian  tradition.  The  expulsion  of  these  gnos- 
tics and  of  the  right  wing  (Encratites,  "Docetee," 


THE   PREPARATION. 


65 


Tutian)  could  bo  accomplished  only  slowly  and  it 
was  a  result  of  tho  consolidating  of  the  Christiail 
communities  into  the  Catholic  Church  which  was 
culled  forth  by  this  gnostic  movement. 

Tho  rise  of  gnosticism  is  fully  explained  from  tho 
general  conditions  under  which  Christian  preaching 
liuurishod  on  Roman  soil  and  from  its  own  attraction 
as  a  sure  announcement  of  knowledge,  life  and  dis- 
cipline, attributed  directly  to  a  Divine  Person  who 
had  appeared  upon  the  earth.  The  Church  fathers 
hold  distracted  Judnism,  together  with  tho  demons, 
responsible  for  its  rise;  later  they  attribute  it  to  tho 
Samaritan  messiah,  Simon,  then  to  tho  Greek  i)hi- 
losophors,  and  finally  to  those  who  show  themselves 
disobedient  to  ecclesiastical  discipline.  In  all  this 
there  was  a. particula  veri  as  may  be  easily  shown; 
the  syncretism  which  led  to  this  Christian  gnos- 
ticism undoubtedly  had  one  of  its  principal  centres 
in  Samai'itan-Syrian  territory  and  the  other  in  Alex- 
andria ;  but  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  con- 
ditions were  everywhere  present  in  the  empire  for  a 
spontaneous  development.  On  that  account  it  is  im- 
possible to  write  a  history  of  tho  development  of 
gnosticism,  and  it  would  be  so,  even  if  wo  knew 
more  than  wo  do  about  the  particular  systems.  We 
can  distinguish  only  between  Jewish-Christian  and 
Gentile- Christian  gnostics,  and  can  group  the  latter 
only  according  to  their  greater  or  less  departure  from 
the  common  Christian  faith  as  exemplified  in  their 
varying  attitude  toward  the  Old  Testament  and  tho 


Encratitw, 

l)«K't't(l', 

Tatlati. 


Exyilnna- 
tiuiisof 

of  (JnoHtl- 
cisiii. 


Simon  Ma- 
guy. 


Samaria 
and  Alex- 
andria. 


■Jcwish- 
Christian 
and  (J«ii- 
til(>-Chri!+- 
tian  Gnos- 
tics. 


«i 


"i 


\  n 


u   ' 


i,u 


i! 


I  liill 


i      i:!: 


<r  i 


I 


66 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 


DilToronce 
hctwcon 
(liidstic 

Ciiristian- 

ity  fuul 

Common 

Faith. 


(lomiiirgo,  and  thon  sock  out  of  this  to  form  from  an 
unl)ias(Ml  reading  of  the  Christian  writings  an  i(l<»a 
of  "gnostic."  That  the  cntin?  niany-sich'd  movo- 
Mcik-nism.  mont,  in  wliicli  Hellenism,  with  all  its  good  and  had 
cjualitics,  songhi  to  adaj)t  the  (lospel,  should  gradu- 
ally hecomo  a  Christian,  or,  rather,  an  ecclesiastical 
movement,  lay  in  the  nature  of  the  case.  But  it  is 
not  therefore  possihle  to  group  the  systems  in  the 
2d  century  chronologically  according  to  a  Christian 
standard,  since  attempts  like  that  of  Carpocrates  he- 
long  to  the  earlier  and  not  to  the  lat(?r  times. 

4.  Although  tho  difTerenceshetween  gnostic  Chris- 
tianity and  the  common  ecclesiastical  faith,  as  well 
as  the  later  ecclesiastical  theology,  appear  in  part 
fleeting,  in  so  far  as  in  the  latter  also  tho  question 
of  knowledge  was  especially  emphasized  and  the 
Gospel  was  heing  transformed  into  a  system  of  com- 
plete knowledge  in  order  to  subdue  the  world,  and  in 
so  far  as  tho  Trt'/rrr^  was  made  subordinate  to  the 
Yv(I>tTt<s  and  Greek  philosophy  was  more  and  more 
employed,  and  in  so  far  as  eschatology  was  restricted, 
docetic  views  allowed  free  play  and  a  rigid  ascetism 
prized;  yet  it  is  true,  (1)  that  at  the  time  when 
gnosticism  was  most  flourishing  all  these  were  found 
in  the  Church  at  large  only  in  germinal,  or  frag- 
mentary form,  ('2)  that  the  Church  at  large  held  fast 
to  the  settled  facts  contained  in  the  baptismal  con- 
fession and  to  the  eschatological  expectations,  retain- 
ing its  belief  also  in  tho  Creator  as  tho  Supreme 
God,  in  the  oneness  of  Jesus  (Jlirist  and  in  tho  Old 


T!IK    I'HKPAIJATION. 


07 


Kion. 


Tc'stainont,  llms  reject inj;  <lualisni,  (:!)  that  tho 
Chiiivh  iiuiintainecl  tho  unity  aiul  tho  parity  of  Im- 
niaii  kind  mikI  thon'foro  tho  simplicity  and  univcM-sal 
tendency  of  tho  C'ln'istian  salvation,  and  (I)  that  it 
opposed  every  .'ittenipt  to  intnuhico  new,  Oriental 
inyth()lo«^i(>s,  guided  in  this  hy  tho  early  Christian 
consciousness  and  a  certain  iud(»pen(lont  judgment. 
However,  the  Church  in  its  contest  with  gnosticism 
learned  a  great  deal  from  it.     Tho  princii)al  points    iTincipai 

I'liinls  im- 

which  were  under  discussion  may  ho  hri(>flv  sum-  'I'-r  i>iwus- 
marized  as  follows  (tho word  "positive"  appended  to 
a  gnostic  jn'oposition  indicates  that  the  doctrine  had 
a  positive  intiuenco  in  tlu>  di  velopment  of  tho 
Church  view  and  doctrine)  :  (1)  Christianity,  which 
is  tho  only  true  and.  absolute  religion,  contains  a  re- 
vealed system  of  doctrine  (pos.),  (2)  the  Rcvealer  is 
Christ  (pos.),  but  Christ  alonc^  and  Christ,  only  so 
far  as  ho  was  made  manifest  (no  O.  T.  Christ). 
This  manifestation  is  itself  tho  redemption, — tho 
teaching  is  tho  proclamation  of  this  and  of  tl'c  nec- 
essary presuppositions  (pos.),  (3)  the  Christian  teach- 
ing is  to  bo  dedue.  1  from  the  apostolic  tradition 
critically  treated ;  the  same  is  found  in  tho  apostolic 
writings  and  in  an  esoteric  doctrine  transmitted 
by  the  apostles  (pos.);  as  an  open  doctrine  it  is  con- 
densed in  the  regula  Jidei  (pos.),  as  an  esoteric  doc- 
trine it  is  transmitted  by  appointed  teachers,  (4)  the 
primitive  revelation  (aiK)stolic  Scriptures),  even  be- 
cause it  is  such,  must  be  exixnuided  by  means  of  tho 
allegory,  in  order  to  draw  out  its  dee])er  meaning 


•1 
I' 


/       I 


f 


^i;;  ' 


m 


!    'I 


,  !'l 


Disparit}' 

<i<Ml  and 
Creator. 


Distin- 
piiishinp 

God  from 
God  of 
O.  T. 


Eternity  of 
Matter. 


V.'orld 
Product  of 
Intcrined'- 
ntt'  or  Evil 

Jk'ing. 


Evil  Inht-r- 

(>iit  ill 
Matter  and 
a   IMiysieal 


Eons. 


riirist  Re- 

vealei-   )f 

Unktuwii 

God. 


Jesus, 

Heavenly 

Eon. 


68 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


(pos.),  (5)  as  to  tho  separate  portions  of  the  ?'egula 
as  the  gnostics  understood  them,  the  following  are 
to  be  especially  noted : 

(a)  The  disparity  between  the  supreme  God  and 
tho  Creator  of  the  world,  and  the  consequent  contrast 
of  redemption  and  creation,  ?'.e.,  the  separation  of 
the  mediator  of  revelation  and  the  mediator  of  crea- 
tion, 

(b)  the  distinguishing  of  the  Supreme  God  from 
tho  Go'l  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  consequent 
rejection  of  the  O.  T. ;  i.e.  the  declaration  that  the 
O.  T.  does  not  contain  a  revelation  of  the  Supreme 
God,  unless  it  be  in  certain  parts, 

yc)  the  doctrine  of  the  absoluteness  and  eternity  of 
matter, 

(d)  the  affirmation  that  the  present  world  came 
into  existence  through  a  fall  into  sin,  i.e.  through 
an  undertaking  antagonistic  to  God,  and  that  it  is 
therefore  the  product  of  an  evil,  or  intermediate 
being, 

(e)  the  doctrine  that  evil  is  inherent  in  matter  and 
is  a  physical  agency, 

(^)  the  acceptance  of  eons,  i.e.  of  real  powers  and 
heavenly  per.stmy,  in  whom  the  absoluteness  of  the 
Divinity  unfouls  itself, 

(g)  the  affirmation  that  Christ  proclaimed  a  hith- 
erto unknowTi  Divinity, 

(h)  the  doctrine  that  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  heavenly 
Eon — the  gnostics  rightly  saw  redemption  i  -  his 
Person,  but  they  reduced  his  Person  to  a  mere  self- 


THE   PREPAFtATION. 


Gt) 


and 

rs  and 
)f  the 

hith- 

ivenly 
II  .  bis 
re  self- 


Valf'ntiu- 

iatis. 


Satornil. 


existent  Being — Christ  and  the  human  manifestation 
of  him  are  to  be  clearly  distinguished  and  to  each 
nature  a  "  cUstincte  atjere "  was  to  be  given  (not 
docetism,  but  the  two-natu  v- doctrine  is  character- 
istic). Accordingly  some,  as  Basilides,  recogni/.ed  BaKiiides. 
no  real  union  whatever  between  Christ  luid  the  man 
Jesus,  whom  they  otherwise  accepted  as  a  real  man. 
Others,  as  a  portion  of  the  Valentinians — their  Chris- 
tology  was  exceedingly  complicated  and  varied — 
taught  that  the  body  of  Jesus  was  a  heavenly-psychi- 
cal form,  and  that  it  only  apparently  came  forth 
from  the  womb  of  Mary.  Others  finally,  like  Sator- 
nil, explained  that  the  entire  visible  manifestation  of 
Christ  was  only  a  phantasma,  and  hence  they  ques- 
tioned the  reality  of  his  birth, 

(i)  the  transformation  of  the  ixxXr^cria  (that  the  .c-^.V^!'  '^ 
heavenly  Church  wa»  looked  upon  as  an  eon  was  a/atiki'Is. 
nothing  new)  into  the  collegium  of  the  pneuma- 
tikers,  who  alone  shall  enjoy  the  highest  blessedness, 
while  the  hylikers  shall  suffer  destruction  and  the 
psychikers  with  tlif^ir  ^''^Ar^  -((rn^  shall  obtain  only  an 
inferior  blessedness, 

(k)  the  rejection  of  the  ^rhole  of  primitive  Chris- 
tian eschatology,  especially  the  return  of  Christ  and 
the  resurrection  of  the  body ;  with  this  was  coupled 
the  affirmation  that  in  the  future  one  should  expect 
only  the  freeing  of  the  spirit  from  the  veiled  life  of 
the  senses,  while  the  spirit  itself  is  enlightened  and 
assured  of  God  and  already  possesses  inmiortality 
itnd  only  awaits  an  entrance  into  tlie  pleroma, 


Ri'kH'tioii 

of  Vriiiii- 

tivf   Cliris- 

tiaii  Ksclia- 

tology. 


in 


I 


■• .  -^  ...•:',: 


:<«^%N^ 


n 


'A. 


i      I 


7f) 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA, 


Dualistic 
Ethics. 


(1)  the  dualistic  eiliics  (rigid  ascetisiii)  vvhicii  here 
and  there  may  have  veered  over  into  libertinism. 

How  strongly  gnosticism  anticipated  Catholicism 
becomes  apparent  especially  from  its  Christology  and 
its  doctrine  of  redemption,  from  its  magic-cult  and 
its  doctrine  of  the  sacraments,  and  from  its  scientific 
literature. 

CHAPTER  V. 

MARCION'S  ATTEMPT  TO  SET  ASIDE  THE  OLD  TES- 
TAMENT AS  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL, 
TO  PURIFY  TRADITION,  AND  TO  REFORM  CHRIS- 
TIANITY ON  THE  BASIS  OF  THE  PAULINE  GOS- 
PEL. 


Marcion's  Marcion  should  not  be  classed  with  gnostics  like 
Principles.  Bfigjij Jes  and  Valcntinus ;  for  (1)  he  was  guided  by 
no  metaphysical,  also  by  no  apologetical,  but  only 
by  a  purely  soteriological  interest,  (2)  he  therefore 
placed  the  whole  emphasis  upon  the  pure  Gospel  and 
upon  faith  (not  ujwn  knowledge),  (3)  he  did  not  em- 
ploy philosophy — at  least  not  as  a  main  principle — 
in  his  conception  of  Christianity,  (4)  he  did  not  en- 
deavor to  found  schools  of  philosophers,  but  to  re- 
form, in  accordance  with  the  true  Pauline  Gospel, 
the  churches  whose  Christianity  he  believed  to  be 
legalistic  (Judaistic)  and  who,  as  he  thought,  denied 
^rhuich  ^  ^^®®  grace.     When  he  failed  in  this,  he  formed  a 


church  of  his  own.     Wholly  captivated  by  the  nov- 
elty, uniqueness  and   glory  of  the  grace  of  God  in 


1    ■,' 


THE    PPKPARATION. 


71 


-k,  1 


Christ,  ho  believed  that  tlie  sharp  antitheses  of 
Paul  (Law  and  Gospel,  works  and  faith,  flesh  and 
spirit,  sin  and  righteousness)  must  be  made  the 
foundation  of  religious  conceptions,  and  that  these 
antitheses  must  be  apportioned  between  the  right- 
eous, angry  God  of  the  Old  Testament,  who  is  iden- 
tical with  the  Creator  of  the  world,  and  the  God  of 
the  Gospel,  who  was  unknown  before  Christ,  and 
wh(j  is  nothing  but  Love  and  Mercy.  This  crass  Crass  Duai- 
dualism — a  Paulinism  without  dialectics.  Old  Testa- 
ment, or  the  Jewish-Christian  view  of  history — was 
put  forth  by  Marcion,  not  without  his  being  influ- 
enced by  the  Syrian  gnosis  (Cerdo).  With  the  ethi- 
cal contrast  of  the  sublime  and  good  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  petty,  just  and  hard  on  the  other,  there  was 
joined  the  contrast  between  the  eternal,  spiritual  and 
the  limited,  sen+ient,  in  a  way  which  threatened  to 
debase  the  problem  again  to  a  question  of  cosmology. 
In  detail,  the  following  points  are  especially  impor- 
tant : 

1.  The  Old  Testament  was  expounded  by  Marcion  Exposition 

^  "^  of  Old  Tes- 

acc  irding  to  its  verbal  sense  and  with  a  rejection  of     talent. 
all  allegorical    interpretations;    he  accepted  it  as  a 
revelation  of  the  Creator  of  the  world  and  of  the  God 
of  the  Jews ;   but  even  on  this  account  he  placed  it 
in  sharp  antithesis  to  the  Gospel  (see  the  "  Antithe- 
ses") the   content  of  which  he  discovered  solely  in 
the  utterances  of  Jesus  and  in  the  Pauline  Epistles,  w^f,![f"^'u(j 
aft  H"  that  he  had  purified  them  from  supposed  Jew-     Ep'^stii^s 
ish    interpolations.     These  interpolations  were,   ac-     oospei. 


j 


'fi'' 


I'aul  Aloii! 
Under- 
stood 
Jesus. 


Marc  ion's 
Thi'oloK.v, 
Chriatol- 

ogy- 


Docetism. 


Oim.lNES    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    r)0(iMA. 


cording 


to   his   idea,    of   long-   staiuliiij;',    since  the 


twcilve  apostles  did  not  understand  Jesus  and  mis- 
construed his  Gospel,  making  it  to  correspond  with 
the  Old  Testament.  Paul,  who  was  called  bj-  Christ 
to  restore  the  true  Gospel,  was  the  only  one  who  pc^r- 
ceived  that  Jesus  had  proclaimed  a  hitherto  unknown 
God  of  grace  in  opposition  to  Jehovah.  As  his 
preaching  has  also  been  obscured,  he,  Marcion,  iias 
been  authorized  to  restore  the  pure  Gospel.  This 
was  the  mission  which  Marcion's  church  attributed 
to  him,  and  it  gave  his  "  Antitheses  "  a  sort  of  canon- 
ical authority. 

2.  Marcion's  conception  of  God  and  his  Christol- 
ogy  resemble  the  gnostic  in  so  far  as  he  also  empha- 
sized most  clearly  the  newness,  uniqueness  and  abso- 
luteness of  Christianity  in  opposition  to  the  Church 
at  large;  he  surpassed  the  gnostics,  however,  in  so 
far  as  he  conceived  mankind  to  be  wholly  the  off- 
spring of  the  Creator  of  the  world  and  found  in 
man's  nature  nothing  akin  to  the  God  of  Love. 
But  love  and  grace  are  according  tc/  Marcion  the 
entire  substance  of  the  Godhead ;  redemption  is  the 
most  incomprehensible  act  of  the  Divine  mi?cy,  and 
everything  that  the  Christian  possesses  he  owes  to 
Christ  :!one,  who  is  the  manifest  ition  oi  the  good 
God  liimstb  Through  his  suffering  he  purchased 
from  the  C^fitr^r  of  ^he  world  hose  who  believe  on 
him,  :viv{  v"»n  rhem  for  himself.  The  rigid  loce- 
tism,  hov;ew;r,  which  Marcicu  taught, — the  declara- 
tion that  thw  sj'i'3  only  of  men  will  be  saved, — Lhe 


] 
( 

I 
1 
r 
t 
r 
C 
f: 


i  i  !' 


THE    J'REI'AKATION. 


73 


Aaceti- 
eisiu. 


Marcion'8 
Hil>li(-ul 
C'auou. 


renunciation  of  the  return  of  Clirist  and  tiie  increas- 
ingly hard  asceticism,  even  to  the  prohibition  of  mar- 
riage (in  spite  of  the  thought  that  God's  love  should 
control  the  "new  "  life),  are  proofs  that  Marcion  was 
to  a  certain  extent  defenceless  agahist  Hellenism ;  on 
the  other  hand,  his  eschatological  ideas  indicate  that 
he  was  seeking  to  return  to  the  monarchy  of  the 
good  God. 

;i.  With  the  view  of  restoring  the  Church  of  the 
pure  Gospel  and  of  gatheiing  together  the  redeemed 
who  are  hated  by  the  God  of  this  world,  Marcion 
caused  certain  evangelical  writings  of  a  particular 
character  to  be  collected  (Luke's  Gospel  and  10 
Pauline  Epistles),  laid  down  certain  principles  for 
their  interpretation  and  drew  the  communities  into 
a  closer,  though  freer,  organization.  Inasmuch  as 
he  rejected  the  Old  Testament,  together  with  all 
"  natural "  religion,  philosophy  and  secret  tradition, 
he  was  obliged  to  answer  the  question.  What  is 
Christian?  out  of  the  historical  records.  Here,  as 
in  many  other  respects,  did  he  anticipate  the  Cath- 
olic Church. 

4.  The  profound  conception  that  the  laws  which  conception 

of  Nature, 

rule  in  nature  and  history  and  the  course  of  civil  Hisr.iy, 
righteousness  are  a  reflection  of  the  acts  of  Divine 
mercy,  and  that  humble  faith  and  fervent  love  are 
the  very  opposite  of  self-complacent  virtue  and  self- 
righteousness — this  conception,  which  dominated  the 
Christianity  of  Marcion,  and  which  restrained  him 
from  every  rationalistic  attempt  at  a  system,  was  not 


lil 


t 


1   i 

:y 

'i 


-^^^mmfi 


Apelles. 


1  i 


.Sit    i  ' 


OUTLINES    Or^"    TF7E    HISTORY    OF   I)0(iMA. 

clearly  inMintaiiiod  hy  liis  chuiTh  as  time  wont  on. 
In  order  to  close  up  the  breaches  and  to  remove  the 
inconsibtencies  of  his  conceptions,  some  of  his  pupils 
advanced  to  a  doctrine  of  three  principles,  others  to 
a  vulj^ar  dualism,  without  however  surrendering  en- 
tirely the  fundamental  ideas  of  their  master.  Apelles, 
lujwever,  Marcion's  greatest  pupil,  returned  to  the 
confession  of  the  one  God,  without  in  other  respects 
surrendering  the  master's  conceptions ;  and,  indeed, 
he  further  developed  some  valuable  ideas,  at  which 
Marcion  had  only  hinted. 

The  Church  fathers  strenuously  opposed  Marcion 
as  the  worst  of  heretics.  In  its  contest  with  him  the 
early  Catholic  Church  doctrine  was  developed  in 
special  directions. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

SUPPLEMENT:    THE   CHRISTIANITY    OF   THE   JEWISH 

(CHRISTIANS. 


m 

Mi 


il'.i 

■M 


Primitive 

Cbristiaii- 

ity. 


1.  Primitive  Christianity  appeared  simply  as  a 
Christian  Judaism,  the  establishment  of  a  universal 
religion  upon  the  Old  Testament  basis;  accordingly 
it  retained  in  so  far  as  it  was  not  hollenized — and 
that  was  never  fully  accomplished — the  Jewish  im- 
press of  its  origin ;  above  all  it  retained  the  Old  Tes- 
tament as  a  primitive  revelation.  Hence  the  dispo- 
sition made  of  the  Old  Testament  was  wholly  Chris- 
tian, proceeding  on  the  assumption  that  the  Chris- 
tians  are   the  true   Israel,  that  the  Old  Testament 


.iiiii  .1 


ip 


TITK    PREPAl^\TTO^^ 


75 


as  a 
n'sal 

|ngly 
-and 

im- 
iTes- 
jispo- 
hris- 
Ihris- 

nent 


Jewish 

C'luistiaii- 

ity. 


rcffi's  to  ilio  Cliriritiaii  org.iiiizatioii  and  teachiiit;', 
and  this,  wiiotlier  a  more  or  loss  realistic  or  spiritual 
interpretation  of  it  was  in  vogue.  The  question  as 
to  the  principles  of  iiiterpri'tation  was  a  pro])U'ni 
within  the  Chnrch,  so  long-  as  no  sn})eriority  was 
conceded  to  the  Jewish  nation  as  such,  and  until  the 
abrogation  of  the  Jewish  ceremonies  and  laws  was 
insisted  upon.  Therefore  the  fovui  ''  JcfCi'sh-CJiris- 
tianit/j  "  is  applicable  exclusively  to  those  Christians 
who  really  retained,  entirely  or  in  the  smallest  part, 
the  national  and  political  forms  of  Judaism  and 
insisted  upon  the  observance  of  the  Mosaic  I  iw 
without  moditication  as  essential  to  Christianity,  at 
least  to  the  Christianity  of  the  Jewish-born  converts, 
or  who  indeed  rejected  these  forms,  but  acknowl- 
edged the  prere)gative  of  the  Jewish  people  also  in 
Christianity  (Papias  in  spite  of  his  chiliasm;  the  papias,  di 
author  of  the  Didache,  in  spite  of  his  transference 
of  the  Old  Testament  priestly  rights  to  the  Chris- 
tian prophets;  Hermas,  in  spite  of  the  waning  an- 
cient Greek  philosophy ;  the  adoption  Christologists, 
in  spite  of  their  rejection  of  the  Logos,  are  not 
Jewish  Christians;  Paul,  hov»'cver,  is  because  of 
Romans  XL).  The  strong  draft  made  upon  the  (Jld 
Testament  in  favor  of  the  Catholic  cultus-,  doctrine- 
and  discipline  33'stem,  is  so  little  a  sign  of  the  ad- 
vance of  Jewish  Christianity  in  the  Church  at  large, 
that  it  rather  runs  parallel  to  the  advancing  Hellen- 
ism, and  was  called  forth  by  it.  The  formula,  "the 
new  law,"  in   the  Catholic  Church  is  not  Jewish, 


Hernias, 
Paul. 


i 

If 


1    1* 


\f,      — — -BW- 


-    ^Blii    WHWI   . 


J»n«»l«»iaa 


— ^fl4*f-V»»Ji(id,.V'H  '»  J»«h,. 


I  r 


70 


OUTLINES   OF  THE    HISTORY    OF   I)0(;MA 


^  M 


1      S  ■!* 


!M 


'  li 


:i' 


.   t 
U 


Jewish 

Ohristiiui- 

ity  ()\f'r- 

couie. 


Niizan'Ut's 

C^oiitimu'cl 

fur  Soiiu' 

Time. 


Points  ill 
Controver- 
sy Among 
Them. 


hut  anti-Jcvvisli,  yot  it  left  room  for  thf  slipping  in 
of  more  and  m<jre  of  the  Old  Testament  command- 
ments into  the  Church. 

2.  Jewish  Christianity,  once  a  mighty  antagonist 
of  Paul,  was,  through  his  labors  and  the  labors  of 
other  teachers,  .is  well  as  through  the  native  force 
of  the  Gospel,  overcome.  In  the  fall  of  Jerusalem 
this  conquest  was  completed.  Since  then  Jewish 
Christianity  has  not  been  a  factor  in  the  history  of 
the  Church,  while  Judaistn  has  remained  such  (in- 
fluence of  Judaism  upon  the  churches  of  the  farthest 
Orient,  in  the  4th  and  5th  centuries).  However, 
Jewi;>'i  Christiniis  (Ebionites,  Nazarenes)  existed  for 
some  time,  and  among  them  the  distinctions  re- 
mained which  were  already  formulated  in  the  apos- 
tolic age.  Sept  rated  from  the  main  Church  origi- 
nally, not  on  account  of  "  doctrine  ",  but  on  account 
of  principles  of  social  Church  life,  of  morals  and 
missionary  practice,  there  were  among  them  the  fol- 
lowing points  in  controversy:  (1)  Whether  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Law  was  a  condition,  or  the  determining 
condition,  of  the  reception  of  the  Messianic  salva- 
tion, (2)  whether  the  same  was  to  be  required  also  of 
Gentile-born  converts,  in  order  to  their  recognition 
as  Christians,  (3)  whether  and  to  what  extent  one 
might  hold  fellowship  with  Gentile  Christians  who 
do  not  observe  the  Law,  (4)  whether  Paul  was  a 
chosen  servant  of  Christ,  or  a  God-hated  interloper, 
(5)  whether  Jesus  was  a  son  of  Joseph,  or  was  mirac- 
ulously  begotten   of  the   Holy  Spirit.     Thus  there 


i 
t 

( 
I 

d 


^    ' 


Jll, 


THE   PRE;'AKATJ0N. 


77 


ifitiifw 

(Jot-pel. 


were  shades  of  l)elief  within  Jewish  Christianity 
(not  two  clearly  distinguished  parties).  There  se(>m3 
to  have  been  little  literary  activity  among  these  Jew- 
ish Christians,  who  were  expelled  by  the  Jews,  (see, 
however,  Synnnachus) ;  their  Gospel  was  the  Hebnnv 
Gospel  which  was  related  to  the  Synoptics  (testimony 
of  Justin,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Jerome,  Ei)i[)hanius). 
Justin  still  recognized  the  liberal  Jewish  Chris- 
tians who  observed  the  Law  for  themselves  alone, 
and  were  friendly  toward  the  Gentile  Christians,  as 
Christian  brethren.  As  yet  no  Christological  creed, 
no  iTew  Testament,  divided  them,  and  even  in  their 
eschatological  expectations.  Gentile  and  Jewish 
Christians  could  still  come  to  an  understanding. 
But  the  more  Jewish  Christianity  withdrew  from  the 
world  in  general  and  the  more  firmly  the  Catholic    fjimiuaiiy 

Kx|u'llc(l 

Church  fixed  its  doctrine  and  discipline  (add  to  this  fiom  cutii- 
the  formation  of  the  New  Testament  canon)  and 
formulated  its  Logos-Christology,  the  more  foreign 
and  heretical  did  Jewish  Christianity  appear;  and 
after  Irenaeur,  it  was  even  placed  in  the  same  cate- 
gory with  gnosticism.  Certain  Orientil  fathers, 
however,  pass  a  better  judgment  upon  it. 

;>.  Judaism  was  in  the  1st  century  a  very  compli- 
cated affair  on  account  of  foreign  influences  (Hellen- 
istic Judaism,  Samaritans,  "Sects").  Accordingly 
there  were  already  "gnostic"  Jewish  Christians, 
("  false  teachers  "  at  Colosse,  see  also  the  Pastoral  <-*i"-istians. 
Epistles;  on  the  other  hand,  Simon  Magus,  Menan- 
der)  who  introduced  into  Christianity  angelological 


Church. 


.Tiidaism 

Very  rom- 

plicattvl. 


(inostic 
.I«>\visli 


1 


m 


''niim]iiKmt>it0.m' 


■■•"rtffrijlifc^wylliw  IB^a. 


|:i 


'li 


if 


!'  I  ;i 


i: 


[I   I 
I:  i 


:« 


OCTLIXKS   OK   TUK    HISTORY    OK    IXHiMA. 


^'1 

llJIIllllT, 


Ccriutli 


^iJirs.'Sf.-"'  f^pocuUitii^ns  (tlioso  were  also  familiar  to  the  phar- 
isoos  and  tlui  writors  of  apocah'pscs)  and  gavo  ciir- 
n^ncy  to  cosmological  idoas  and  myths,  throuj^h  both 
of  which  thoy  snhlimatdd  i\\o  idea  of  God,  bisoctt'd, 
corrected  or  transformed  the  Law  (rejection  of  the 
blood  offering)  and  gave  an  impulse  to  a  peculiar 
asceticism  and  cultus  of  mysteries.  They  continued 
until  far  into  the  Byzantine  age.  Cerinth  (c.  100) 
retained  certain  ostablislied  laws  (circumcision)  and 
preached  a  grossly  sensuous,  realistic  future  king- 
dom; but,  on  the  other  hand,  ho  distinguished  the 
supreme  God  from  the  Creator  of  the  world,  freely 
criticised  the  Law  and  distinguished  in  the  Redeemer 
the  man  Jesus  from  the  Christ  whom  he  identified 
with  the  Holy  Spirit.  Another  branch  of  this  Jew- 
ish   Christianity  is    to    bo    found    in  the    Pseudo- 

u  iiunKs.  Qlementine  Writings.  Therein,  as  appears  from  their 
sources,  the  attempt  is  made  by  means  of  stoic  ra- 
tionalism, on  the  one  side,  and  Oriental  mj'thologic 
cosmology  on  the  other,  to  fortify  apologeiicallu  the 
conception  that  the  Gospel  is  the  restoration  of  the 
pure  Mosaic  doctrine.  The  contradictory  represen- 
tations of  stoic  naturalism  and  a  positive  revelation 
through  prophets  are  to  be  united  through  the  idea 
of  the  one  Prophet,  who  from  Adam  down  has  ap- 
peared in  different  forms.  The  Gospel  was  believed 
to  be  the  restoration  of  the  primitive  and  universal 
religion,  which  is  simply  Mosaism  freed  from  all  its 
peculiar  characteristics  (circumcision,  statutes  re- 
specting off(n'ings).     Christ  is  the  one  true  Prophet, 


Pscudo- 
('K'liifiitiiK 


Oosjwl 

llrl.l  to  be 

l.'cstura- 

t  iiiii  (if 

I'riiiiJtivo 

lit'liLrion. 


Mi 


'■II    '' 


THE   PREPARATION. 


70 


a- 
ic 
he 
he 
en- 
ion 
lea 
ip- 
^ed 
sal 
its 
\ve- 
let, 


who,  as  it  socms,  was  identified  witli  the  tirst  Adam. 
Tlie  stoic  idea  of  the  ^y>r'>t  was  accepted,  hut  it  was 
justified  througli  a  dualistically-coiiceived  eon-spec- 
ulation, in  which  the  <>arly  Semitic  ])rinciples  cropped 
out  (masculine-feminine;  neutralization  of  the  ethi- 
cal contradictions  in  the  supreme  God).  Platonic 
elements  are  hardly  discern ihle.  But  along  with 
the  apologetical  tendency,  the  polemical  is  strongly 
marked.  This  is  directed,  under  the  form  of  a  r(>futa- 
tion  of  Simon  Magus,  against  every  phase  of  (lentile- 
Christian  gnosticism  (jilso  against  Marciou),  while 
the  primitive  writings  douhtless  contained  a  polemic 
against  Paul.  The  polemic  and  the  means  made  use 
of  prove  that  the  Catholic  Church  was  already  in  ex- 
istence. Therefore  the  Pseudo-Clementine  Writings 
helongtothe  od  century.  Accordingly  it  is  ])rol)ahle  tinoWrit 
that  the  compilers  had  hefore  them  earlier,  anti-Paul-  <^'''"'<""y 
ine  writings.  Moreover  it  is  prohahle  that  the  last 
redactors  were  in  no  sense  Jewish  Chri,-*  ians,  that, 
also,  the  ahove-mentioned  characteristics  are  not 
ascrihable  to  a  group  of  writers,  as  such,  but  th;.t 
they  belong  to  them  only  accidoifalhf,  thjit  [)rimi- 
tive  Jewish  Christian  writings  passed  through  vari- 
ous hands  and  were  innocently  transmitted  and  re- 
vised. This  being  so,  the  seeking  for  a  "  Pseudo- 
Clementine  System"  is  a  fruitless  undertaking;  it 
were  better  to  accept  the  last  narrator  as  a  Catholic 
Christian  who  made  use  of  whatever  interested  him 
and  others,  but  who  was  by  no  means  a  disciple  of 
Irenjmis  or  Origen.     Whether  under  such  conditions 


( 'Iciiifn- 


.'   '  ■ ' 


1 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


.V4 


■^f 


1.0 


I.I 


UA 


1^      1^ 

12.2 


H:   Ml   III  2.0 


18 


!25 

1.4 

J4 

,^ 6"     — 

► 

V] 


4V% 


V 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


4 


\ 


is 


^ 


V 


<> 


^9) 


.V 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


6^ 


,.^^ 


,<ir^4^ 


f/. 


.<? 


s 

^ 
^ 

*.<?> 


6^ 


:  ■'  I'll 

it 


I  \$^ 


:i|! 


:i-i 


f     ■  Hi. 


Ill  11 


III 


ElkusaiU's. 


HO 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF    DOGMA. 


it  is  possible  to  distinguish  tlie  gnostic,  Jewish- 
Cliristian,  and  anti-Paulino  sources  is  questionable. 
A  third  group  which  did  not  have  in  a  true  sense, 
like  the  former,  a  literary  existence  is  composed  of 
the  Elkesaitos  (in  Syria,  pushing  toward  Rome  at 
the  beginning  of  the  3d  century) .  These  were  such 
Jewish-Christians  as  wholly  set  aside  the  Old  Testa- 
ment through  their  "  nature-speculations  " ;  who  did, 
however,  retain  the  idea  of  prophecy,  especially  of 
Jesus  as  a  Prophet,  but  who  followed  a  new  prophet 
that  had  perfected  religion  through  penitential  and 
cultus  ordinances  (washings)  on  the  basis  of  a  new 
scripture  revelation.  A  series  of  elements  belong- 
ing to  this  no  longer  Christian  Jewish-Christianity 
(sources:  Hippolytus,  Eusebius,  Epiphanius), — viz. 
rigid  monotheism,  partial  criticism  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, rejection  of  blood  offering,  prohibition  of 
wine,  frequent  washings,  connivance  in  respect  to 
marriage,  r>erversion  of  the  Messianic  idea  in  the 
interests  of  their  prophet,  discarding  of  atonement 
idea  and,  as  it  seems,  also  of  the  idea  of  a  king- 
dom, high  regard  for  the  relatives  of  their  prophet 
— reappear  again  in  Islamism,  that  was  in  a  measure 
influenced  by  this  "Jewish-Christianity",  which  is 
related  to  the  Sabier.  The  main  Church  troubled 
itself  very  little  about  this  aberration. 


i      i 


M' 


') 


BOOK  II. 


THE   LAYING   OF    THE    FOUNDATION. 


i  t 


•4 


i» 


CHAPTER   I. 


HISTORICAL  SURVEY. 


Ritschl,  Entstehung  dor   altkathl.  Kirche, 
Origines,  T.  V-VII. 


1857.     Renan, 


THE  second  century  of  the  existence  of  Gentile- 
Christian  Churches  is  characterized  by  the 
victorious  contest  with  the  gnostics,  Marcion  and 
the  early  Christian  enthusiasm ;  that  is,  by  the  de- 
clining of  the  acute  hellenizing  tendency  on  the  one 
side,  and  by  the  suppression  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tian freedom  of  expression,  discipline  and,  in  part, 
hope  also  on  the  other.  An  important  part  of  prim- 
itive Christianity  was  rescued  by  the  conserving  force 
of  tradition  (faith  in  the  Creator  and  Redeemer 
God) ;  but  men  speculated  all  the  more  freely  about 
the  world  and  its  wisdom,  since  they  believed  that 
they  possessed  in  the  apostolic  Scriptures,  in  the 
apostolic  creed,  in  the  apostolic  office,  the  definite 
assurance  of  what  is  "  Christian".  The  subjectivism 
of  Christian  piety  was  curbed  and  the  fanciful  niyth- 


6 


81 


Gentile 
Christian- 
ity in  the 
M  Century. 


J 

'•     i 

I 
1 

i 

J 

t    : 
1 

1 

! 

1 
! 

! 

;  ■  ! 

I 

'  i 

, 

{    > 

M 

H'l 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    O^'    IXXiMA. 


'  11 


If.    .     B    ,| 


J      ill 


:|    !l 


i  t 


Gnostic 
Kyst«Miis 
Itt'futed, 


Doublt! 

Problem. 
First:  Ori- 
Kiu  of 
Catholi- 
cism as 

a  Church. 


Second: 

Oripinof 

Scicntiflc 

System  of 

Fttith. 

I  *        I 


creating,'  tendonry  was  restrained,  likewise  also  the 
acceptjiiice  of  wlioUy  foreign  material  as  doctrinal 
teaching;  but  the  individual  was  made  subject  to  a 
sacred  primitive  record  and  to  the  priest,  since  he 
Wi's  put  under  the  rigid  episcopal  restraint  of  the 
one,  holy,  apostolic,  Catholic  Church,  which  men 
identified  with  the  kingdom  of  Christ  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  blessedness.  The  gnostic  systems  were 
linaliy  refuted ;  but  men  then  made  for  themselves 
out  of  the  kerygma  and  with  the  help  of  Greek 
philosophy  a  scientific  system  of  faith,  which  was  a 
superlative  medium  for  commending  the  Church  to 
the  intellectual  world,  but  which  was  nothing  but  a 
mystery  to  the  laity,  obscuring  their  faith,  or  inter- 
preting the  Gospel  in  the  language  of  the  Greek  phi- 
losophy of  religion. 

2.  The  problem  of  the  history  of  dogma  for  the 
period  from  about  150-300  A.D.,  is  a  double  one: 
First,  it  has  to  describe  the  origin  of  Catholicism  as 
a  Church,  i.e.  the  rise  and  development  of  the  apos- 
tolic-Catholic standards  (Rule  of  Faith,  New  Testa- 
ment, Ecclesiastical  Office ;  standards  regarding  the 
holiness  of  the  Church),  by  which  the  scattered 
churches  were  gradually  fused  into  one  empirical 
Church,  which,  however,  was  held  to  be  the  apos- 
tolic, true  and  Hohj  Church.  Second,  it  has  to 
describe  the  rise  and  development  of  the  scientific 
system  of  faith,  as  this  grew  up  on  the  circumfer- 
ence of  the  Church  for  apologetical  j)urj)oses,  not  it 
is  true  as  a   foreign  growth,  but  rather  in  closest 


THE   T.AYTN(i   OF   THE    FOrXDATTON. 


the 
lone : 

as 
ipos- 
sta- 

tho 
lered 
'ical 

)OS- 

to 

\tific 

ifer- 

i.t  it 

)sest 


connection  with  the  aims  of  the  earliest  Gentile 
Christianity  (see  Book  I.  Chap,  li) ;  to  describe  how 
this,  which  was  originally  through  revelation  sim- 
ply an  assured  monotheistic  cosmology,  Logos-doc- 
trine and  moral  theology,  became  in  the  contest  with 
gnosticism  amalgamated  with  the  ideas  of  salvation 
in  the  ancient  mysteries,  on  the  one  side,  with  the 
Church  kerygma  and  tbe  Old  Testament  ideas  on 
the  other  (Iremeus,  Hippolytus,  Tertullian),  and  was 
thus  transformed  into  a  complicated  system  (philo- 
sophical, kerygmatical,  Biblical  and  primitive-Chris- 
tian-eschatological  elements) ;  how,  farther,  under 
the  influence  of  the  Alexandrians^  it  was  recast  into 
an  Hellenic,  syncretic  system  in  the  interest  of 
Catholic  gnostics  (type  of  Philo  and  Valentine),  and 
how,  then,  the  great  breach  between  scientific  dog- 
matics and  the  traditional  faith  was  made  manifest, 
which  already  in  the  3d  century  had  received  such  a 
thorough  solution  that  the  aims  of  scientific  dog- 
matics and  a  part  of  its  teaching  (above  all  its 
Logos-doctrine)  were  adopted  as  the  faith  of  the 
Church;  while  other  things  were  cast  aside  or  con- 
tested, the  realistic  propositions  of  the  kerygma 
were  shielded  from  the  spiritualizing  tendency  that 
would  transform  them,  and  the  right  of  distinguish- 
ing between  a  system  of  faith  for  thinking  minds 
and  a  faith  for  unthinking  minds  (thus  Origen)  was 
fundamentally  denied.  The  four  stages  of  the  de- 
velopment of  dogma  (Apologists,  early  Catholic 
Fathers,    Alexandrines,    Methodius    together    with 


Irontrtis, 
Hippoly- 
tus, Ter- 
tullian, 


Alcxnn- 
•Iriuns. 


Doctrine 
Accepted. 


• 


1 

4 

/ 

t 

i 

j 

1 

mm 

I 


m 


■M 


81 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF    DOOMA. 


his  followers)  corrt'spoiiil  to  the  progressive  relig- 
ious ciiid  philosophical  ileveloi)ment  of  paganism  dur- 
ing that  time :  Philosophical  theory  of  morals,  idea 
of  salvation  (theology  and  practice  of  mysteries), 
Neo-Platonism  and  reactionary  syncretism. 


I.  ESTABLISHMENT    OF    CHRISTIANITY    AS 
CHURCH  AND  ITS  GRADUAL  SECULAR- 
IZATION. 


I       :i 


I    ( 


lit 


Rulo  of 
Kaiili,  Nt'w 
Tfsimiit'ut, 

onicc-. 


I     I 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  SETTING  FORTH  OF  THE  APOSTOLIC  RULES 
(norms)  for  ECCLESIASTICAL  CHRISTIANITY. 
THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH. 

The  three  apostolic  norms  (Rule  of  Faith,  New 
Testament,  Office) — see  Irenaeus,  III.:  1  sq.,  Tertul- 
lian,  de  praesc.  *il.  '-Yi.  30.*) — found  their  way  into 
the  different  provincial  churches  at  different  times, 
but  the  three  always  went  together.  They  had  their 
preparatory  stages  in  the  brief  kerygmatic  confes- 

''  A'  praescr.  21:  "Constat  omnem  doctrinam  quae  cum  ecclesiis  apoa- 
tolicis  watricibiis  vt  oriyinolibus  fidci  conspiret  I'eritnti  lieputandatu, 
id  sine  dubio  tenenteni  quod  ecrlesiae  ub  apostoh's,  apnstnli  a  Chrisfo, 
Christus  adeo  acce])it."  3G:  "Vidcatnusqui<l  (^ecclcsia  Koinana)  didicerit, 
quid  docuerit,  cum  Africauis  quoque  ecclesiis  lontesserarit.  Untim  deu m 
domitmm  uoi'it,  creatorem  universitatis,  et  Christum  Jesiim  ex  virgiue 
Mdviii  Jiliuji  dci  oeutittis,  et  carnis  resnrrectionem;  legem  et  prophet<is 
cum  evanijelicis  et  apostolicis  titteris  miseet,  inde  potat  Jidem,  cam  aqua 
sinnnt,  saticto  spiritu  vestit,  encharistia  jmscit,  mavti/rium  crhnitatni;  et 
ltd  iidcer.tns  lid.ir  iii.-ttitutiouem  nniiiineiii  recipit."  'ii:  "  Knilnnit  nnli- 
iieiii  <iiiscitiK)iuiii  sucnnii.  ltd  per  siir(  (■.■isiouein  dh  itiitio  decurniilciti,  ut 
primus  ill<-  episct>]>us  (diipieni  e.v  djiostolis  i-cl  apostolicis  riris.  (/ni  tamen 
cum  apustulisperseceravit,  habuerit  auctorem  et  antecesseorein." 


I 


TIIK    LAYINC    or    THK    K()l'\l).\TI(»N, 


85 


New 

M'tul- 

iiito 
imes, 
1  their 
Infes- 

apos- 
bidani, 

Uct'vit. 

deiiiii 

jhetdn 
aqua 

fi(»\  ft 
<)(■(//- 

■III,  ttt 
Itamen 


8K>II. 


sions,  in  the  antliority  of  the  x''</<{»)v  and  of  the  apos- 
tolic tradition,  as  woll  as  in  the  epistlos  read  in  the 
churches,  and  finally  in  th(»  deference  shown  to 
apostles,  prophets  and  teachers,  i.e.  to  the  "elders" 
and  leaders  of  the  individual  churches. 

A.   The  Rcntsfiiu/  of  the  Ihijtfi.siiidl  Ctm/cssion    nnptismai 

L'oiit't's- 

mfo  the  Apostolic  Rule  of  Ftutli  (C'aspari,  Quellen 
z.  Gescli.  des  Taufsynibols,  \  Bdd.)-  From  the  first 
there  was  in  the  Cluu'ch  a  kerygnia  (preaching)  of 
Christ  (see  Book  I.,  Chap.  :>  sub  'I)  and  brief  confes- 
sional formulas  (Father,  Son  and  Spirit) ;  and  espe- 
cially in  the  Roman  church,  at  least  since  ±  140  a.d., 
a  definite  baptismal  confession  (probably  als(»  in  Asia 
Minor) .  These  confessions  were  "  the  faith "  and 
were  considered  the  quintessence  of  the  apostolic 
preaching  and  were,  therefore,  referred  back  to 
Christ  and  ultimately  to  God  himself.  But  every- 
thing indeed  wliich  seemed  inalienable  was  looked 
upon  as  an  apostolic  rule  of  faith,  cfj.  the  Christian 
interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament.  However, 
probably  nothing  was  fixed,  save  that  the  Roman 
sj'mbol  and  the  ethical  rules  (''•"^«;^i?  xu(hoo)  stood  at 
least  upon  the  same  plane  as  the  kerygma  of  Christ. 
From  the  beginning,  however,  in  the  work  of  in- 
struction, in  exhortations  and,  above  all,  in  the  con- 
tests with  false  teachings  men  enjoined:  «-»»;. j'r<«/iev 

xa)    fl-e/ivov    r^s'    ~apafio(7tiu<i    ijfiwv    xaviha    (I.Clem.  7;  cf. 

Polyc.  epist.  2.  7 ;  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  Jude,  Ig- 
natian  Letters,  also  Justin).     As  the  danger  from 


\ 


Hnniivn 
Symbol. 


M      1 

<i  ! 


I   . 


r 


|! 


it 


I 


sr, 


(RTMNKH   OK  THK    HISTOUY    OF    l)()(;MA. 


i?t7**i.I'^     Lfuosticisin   ln'caiiic  jicuto,   incii   iwcessarilv  caiiu'  to 
«•»"'''"•(.    j.y.^jjy^,   ^jj^^   neither    tlie   content    and   t'omi»ass   of 

"  tlui  received  faith"  (''the  sound  doctrine"),  nor 
its  interpretation  was  secured  to  them.  There  was 
need,  it  seemed,  of  a  lixed  <nihr<tr<l  stanthird,  in 
order  to  he  ahle  to  disprove  <loctrines  sucli  as  tliat 
of  the  dirt'erence  hetween  the  supreme  God  and  the 
Creator-God,  or  such  as  tliat  of  docetism,  and  to 
bo  able  to  maintain  the  true  concejition  as  (tposiolic 
doctrine — they  needed  a  dcjinHclfi  iiiicrj)rcfril  (q)(>s- 
tolic  creed.  Under  these  circumstances  the  partic- 
churciu's    ularly  closely   allied   churches   of   Asia  Minor   and 

of  Asia  -^  -^ 

'^Komi'  Ac^  Rome,  whose  experience  is  known  to  us  through 
Jrena3us  (he  is  hardly  the  first  writer  on  the  subject), 
accepted  the  fixed  Roman  baptismal  confession  as 
apostolic  in  such  a  way  that  they  proclaimed  the 
current  anti-gnostic  interpretation  of  it  as  its  self- 
evident  content,  and  the  expounded  confession  as 
"fides  cathoUca^' ;  i.e.  they  set  it  up  as  a  standard 
of  truth  in  matters  of  faith  and  made  its  acceptance 
the  condition  of  membershi])  in  the  Church.  This 
procedure,  by  which  the  centre  of  gravity  of  Chris- 
tianity was  shifted,  (the  latter,  however,  was  pre- 
served from  entire  dissolution)  rests  upon  two  un- 
proven  assertions  and  an  exchange.  It  is  not  proven 
that  any  confession  of  this  kind  emanated  from  the 
apostles  and  that  the  churches  founded  by  the  apos- 
tles always  preserved  their  teaching  without  modi- 
fications; and  the  confession  itself  was  exchanged 
for  an  exposition  of  it.     Finally,  the  conclusion  that 


co\tt  nap 

tisinal 
Coiift'ssion 
as  Apos- 
tolic. 


^Ik 


THK   LAYINfJ   OF   THK    F'orXDATroN, 


87 


from  ihv  virtual  ap^rormtMit  in  doctrine  of  a  j^roup  of 
churclu's  (l)ishoi)s)  there  existed  a  fides  ((ithohCit 
waw  uniustitied.     77/ /.s  (tct)(»i  csfahlislird  tin'  Vtiilt-     enthoii.- 

Arjfiiiiuiit 

olic  (tnjunie)it  from  tradition  and  Ims  determined  [|'j','!!|,,'il;".' 
its  Jnndauientiil  suinifivane''  iintn  the  j>rese)it 
time:  The  e([nivocal  rij;ht,  on  tlie  one  side,  to  an- 
nounce the  creed  as  complete  and  idnin,  and,  on  the 
other  side,  to  make  it  ho  elastic  that  one  can  reject 
every  uncomfortable  meaning,  is  to  the  j)resent  day 
characteristic  of  Catholicism.  It  is  also  characteris- 
tic that  men  identify  Christianity  with  a  system  of 
faith  which  the  laity  cannot  understand.  The  lat- 
ter are  therefore  oppressed  and  referred  back  to  the 
authoritn. 

TertuUian  developed  the  method  of  Irenirus  still    T.'rtuiiian 

*  Makes  iiii 

farther.  As  the  latter  found  the  chief  gnostic  AjU-am-.M.n 
teachings  already  refuted  in  the  baptismal  confes- 
sion, while  as  yet  only  the  common  sense  of  the 
Church  protested  against  them;  so  the  former, 
embracing  the  confession  all  the  more  firmly  as  au- 
thority for  the  faith,  found  in  the  reyula  already  the 
creation  of  the  universe  from  nothing,  the  mediator- 
ship  of  the  Logos  in  creation,  the  existence  of  the 
same  before  all  creatures,  a  definite  theory  in  regard 
to  his  incarnation,  the  preaching  of  a  nova  lex  and 
of  a  nova promissio^  and  finally  also  the  trinitarian 
economy  and  the  correct  teaching  in  respect  to  the 
natures  of  Christ  {de  praescv.  13;  de  vivg.  1;  adv. 
Prax.^  2,  etc.).  His  "recjula^'  is  an  apostolic  lex  et 
doctrina^  inviolable  for  every  Christian. 


I'na'us. 


ii : 


'    t: 


I  . 


i 


R8 


OITF.INKS   OF  TIIK    IIISTOKY    OK    IKXJMA. 


Not  Wid.'- 

.Spnail  till 

During  :i<l 

t'fritury. 


:    ,:) 


New  T«'sta- 
iin'iit  Writ- 
injcs  Rec- 
oj^uizt'd  as 
Apostolic. 


( )nly  ill  ilu'  course  of  (lie  .".d  mitiiry  did  tliis  Cilli- 
olicr  standard  Iktoihc  \vido-s|troad  in  tlio  (Uiiirch. 
('lenient  ol'  Alexandria  did  not  yet  know  it  (for 
liiin  the  /'r/''^>  r^Js'  Ux).r,n>a^  was  tile  anti-j^^nosllc  in- 
torpH'tation  ol"  tlio  Holy  Smptures) ;  Orip'ii,  liow- 
ovor,  canio  very  near  accepting  it  (sec,  dc  princip. 
2)r<ti'J'.),  i.e.  in  the  beginning  of  the  ^{d  centnry  the 
Alexandrian  Cliurcli  was  following  the  Roman,  and 
gradually  hecanu^  "  Catholic".  Later  still  the  Syrian 
churches  also  followed,  as  the  documentary  source 
of  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  proves,  which  knows 
nothing  of  the  "apostolic  rule  of  faith"  in  the 
Occidental  sense.  Only  at  the  end  of  the  3d  century 
did  the  Catholic  Church  become  a  reality  through 
the  common  apostolic  lev  and  distinguish  itself 
sharply  from  the  heretical  parties ;  remote  churches, 
indeed,  probably  came  first  through  Nicea  to  an  ac- 
ceptance of  an  "apostolic  rule  of  faith."  But  even 
the  Nicene  creed  was  not  accepted  at  a  single  stroke. 

B.  The  Eecoguifion  of  a  Selection  of  Well- 
known  Scnptnres  as  Virtually  Belonging  to  the 
Old  Testament;  i.e.  as  a  Compilation  of  Apostolic 
Scriptures  (see  the  "Introductions  to  the  N.  T." 
by  Reuss,  Holtzmann,  Weiss).  By  the  side  of  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets  (t«  ,3ti3?.{a)  there  was  in  the 
churches  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  or  briefly  "  >j  x'V"^'", 
which  was  indisputable.  The  words  and  deeds  of 
the  Lord  ("  the  Gospel ")  were  recorded  in  numer- 
ous, oft-revised  scriptures  closely  related  to  each 
other,  which  were  called  the  "  Lord's  Writings",  also 


ho 
he 

> 
of 
er- 
ich 


THF    I.AYINfJ    OK    TMK    KnlND ATloN. 


RO 


loll. 


">.«Yf'/",  thru     yet  in>l  till  aft«'r  tlic  niiddlo  of  tlic  "^d 

century — '*  i''>'iyy!/.>u''     ainl     " 'irrnnvriHi^innura     r<it.>    »irr«<- 

#rr«/««v";  tliene  wore  puhlicly  ivml  at  least  after  C. 
110  (Jnstiii).  Th<»  last  named  title  oxi)resses  the 
jiidj^nieut,  that  everything  which  was  reported  of 
the  Lord  could  he  traced  directly  (»r  indirectly  to 
the  apostles.  Out  of  these  luinierous  evani'clical  TatimrM 
writings  there  wore  in  certain  churches,  already 
before  the  middle  of  the  '^d  century,  four  tluit  were 
prominent — our  pvesciit  (Ittsjwls — which,  c.f/.,  very 
soon  after  HiO  were  worked  over  hy  Tatian  into  a 
single  Gospel  (Diatessaron).  About  the  same  time 
they  took  on  their  final  form,  nion*  than  likely  in 
Rome.  Together  with  those  writings  the  Kj)istle8 
of  tho  apostlo  Paul,  which  had  been  collected  earlier, 
were  read  in  the  churches,  i.e.  by  tho  leaders,  as 
the  Epistles  of  Clement,  Barnabas,  Ignatius  and  par- 
ticuhirly  Polycarp  testify.  While  however  tlie  (ios- 
pels  had  a  direct  relation  to  the  kerygma  and  met 
there(iuiremonts  of  tradition  (Ignatius,  Justin),  such 
was  not  tho  case  with  the  Paulitto  Epistles.  Finally 
all  definite  scriptural  productions  of  prophetic  spirits 
{j:-^vj;La7n<puin>>.)  were  rovorod  as  inspired  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, whether  they  were  Jewish  apocalypses  with 
high-sounding  names,  or  the  writings  of  Christian 
prophets  and  teaciiers.  The  yi>'i-<fy}  was  primarily 
the  Old  Testament,  but  with,  " '-  xfyt"?  Uyti^''  {yiyitar.rat 
or  simply  -^-V^O)  apocalyptic  verses  were  also  cited. 
Of  like  worth,  but  different  in  kind,  was  the  cita- 
tion:  o  xofuns;  Uysi  h   TiJ  tnayytkiu}  (fulfilling   of   pPOph- 


>l| 


< 

'' :    • 

■! 

, 

'      1 

I        1 

1 

i 

i 

I 

*  ^      i 

'     ■ ;      f 

t 
1 

1 
1 

y^i 


Fitl 


t 


n 

'it 


<n 

I 

i, 
•I 


m 


l! 


^ 


Marclfiii'H 

(  'llllOII. 


Foruiing 

of  N.  T. 

Canon. 


tH) 


Ol'TMNRS   OK  TfriO    IMSToKV    oV   I)0(JMA. 


<*i*y — t'tliital  rules).  Many  tcaclicrs  gladly  spoke  in 
the  words  of  the  apostle  Taiil,  without  according 
them  the  .same  rank  as  the  Scriptures  and  tho  Word 
of  the  Lord  (were  the  Kpistles  of  Paul  puhlicly  read 
in  the  churches  Ix'fore  c.  ISO?). 

Marcion,  who  rejected  the  Old  Testanient  and  the 
prophetic  i>roofs,  formed  a  new  collection  of  Scrip- 
tures and  gave  it  canonical  rank  (Luke's  Ciospel,  10 
Paulines  Kpistles).  At  the  same  time  i)n;hal)ly,  or 
a  littler  later,  the  gnostic  school  leaders  did  tlu'  same, 
favoring  the  writings  in  widest  circulation  among 
th(^  churches,  hut  with  new  additions  (X'alentinus, 
Tatian,  Encratites).  Everywhere  in  such  circles  tho 
Epistles  of  Paul  came  to  tho  front;  for  they  were 
theological,  soteriological,  and  could  bo  interpreted 
as  dualistic.  The  new  critically  constituted  collec- 
tions, which  the  gnostics  set  over  against  the  (.)ld 
Testament,  w(»re  clothed  with  the  same  authority  as 
tho  ( )ld  Testament  and  were  allegorically  interpreted 
in  harmony  with  it  (still,  besides,  secret  tradition  and 
secret  scriptures).  Again,  a  reference  to  the  r/'^'^f^i 
and  the  xn/no^^  did  not  suffice  for  tho  leaders  of  the 
churches.  It  was  necessary,  (1)  to  determine  which 
evangelical  writings  (in  which  recension)  were  to 
be  taken  into  consideration ;  it  was  necessary,  (2)  to 
deprive  the  heretics  of  everything  which  could  not 
bo  discredited  as  new  and  false ;  it  was  neces^ry, 
(;j)  to  put  forth  such  a  collection  of  writings  as  did 
not  overturn  the  evidence  from  tradition,  but  on  the 
contrary   by   their    inherent   (jualities    even    added 


"ti  J! 


■( 


THK  ?.\viN(j  (H«-  rm:  KnrNr>ATi()N. 


!•! 


wt'ij^Iit.  At  Mist  tluT  cniirmrtl  tlu'iiisi'lvcs  tt>  \\\v 
proclamation  of  tlic  four  (iosiK'ls  uh  the  only  aiitlicii- 
tic  aptislnliv  rcconls  of  tlu»  Lord.  Thcsr  wvw  al- 
ready hold  ill  an  cstct'in  so  noarly  <'(|iial  to  that  of 
the  ( )ld  'rt'staiiu'nt,  that  tlu>  inunrnsc  stride  iicces- 
sary  to  declare  tiie  words  and  letters  holy  was 
HOtireely  recoj^nizcd  as  an  innovation;  hesides,  what 
th(3  Master  had  said  was  from  the  he^inniii}^  «*onsid- 
(>ro<l  holy.  Many  and,  indeed,  most  of  tlie  churches 
alMxle  ])y  this  decisitni  until  far  into  the  :{d  century; 
see,  for  example,  the  documentary  hasis  of  Jie  Apos- 
tolic Constitutions ;  some  ( )riental  churches  cont  inued 
touse  thoDiatessaron.  No  second  collection  came  to 
be  uHtcemod,  and  the  four  Gospels  were  joined  to  the 

alongside  of  these  stood  the  testimony  of  pneumatic 
scrihblings,  ever  however  having  decreasing  diginty 
(Montanist  controversy) . 
But  wherever  the  contest  with  heresy  was  most      rnurs 

1. pistil's 

vehemently  carried  on  and  the  consolidation  of  the    a.i.i.-.i  to 
•'  hiiuf  (Jos- 

churches   upon  stable   principles   was   most   intelli-       '"'**■ 

gently  undertaken — in  (Asia  Minor  and)  Rome,  a 
neic  Cdfliolic-aj'iostolic  voUection  of  scripfnrcs 
was  opposed  to  the  new  gnostic  collection,  more  in 
defence  than  in  attack.  The  Epistles  of  Paul  were 
added  to  the  four  Gospels  (not  without  some  scruples 
in  transforming  scriptures  which  were  written  for 
special  occasions  into  Divine  oracles  and  conceal- 
ing the  process  even  of  transformation)  and  conse- 
quently included  under  the  argument  from  tradition. 


i! 


!i 


•i 


,    I 


:'!i: 


r 


■P'   !H 


5 


OITTMNKS   OF   THK    IfFSTORY    OF   DOOMA, 


jneut. 


SO  tJint.  ihrcm^li  tiio  iiu-dium  of  a  very  recent  book, 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  they  were  associated  with 
the  supposed  preaching  of  the  twelve  apostles,  i.e. 
subordinated  to  it.  The  Paul  sanctioned  by  the 
twelve  apostles  in  the  Acts,  and  made  hardly  recog- 
nizable by  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  thus  became  a  wit- 
ness   '^f    the    o'.'^'r/ij    Ota    zwy    i{i'  a-unrnXoy^^  i,e.  OUC  WaS 

under  obligation  and  had  the  right  to  understand 

him  in  accordance  with  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 

which  surely  came  into  the  collection  only  faiite  de 

\    mieux  and  was  obliged  to  support  a  tradition  far 

New  Testa-  bcyoud   its   oim   words.     The  two-,  more  properly 

ment 

^''same°°  thrce-fold  new  apostolic  collection  (Gospels,  Acts, 
ourTt^sui-  Pauline  Epistles),  now  placed  as  the  New  Testa- 
ment on  the  same  plane  with  the  Old  Testament  and 
presently  raised  above  the  latter,  already  recognized 
by  Irenreus  and  TertuUian  (in  practice,  not  in  theory, 
the  Gospels  and  the  Pauline  Epistles  seemed  to  be 
of  equal  worth),  gradually  came  into  use  in  the 
ciiurches,  beginning  in  the  Occident,  and  when  this 
was  once  accomplished  the  result  could  hardly  be 
disturbed.  Whereas  a  fourth  and  fifth  ingredient 
could  never  really  win  a  perfectlj'^  firm  form.  First, 
men  sc^ight  to  strengthen  the  history  of  the  apostles 
by  means  of  scriptures  written  by  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, Tt  was  natural  that  they  should  wish  to  have 
such  scriptures,  and  then  there  were  highly  esteemed 
scriptures  from  Christian  prophets  and  teachers 
enough  to  suggest  their  acceptance  (they  could  not 
be  ignored),  but  without  any  apostolic  authority  (in 


THE   LAYING   OF   THE    KOL'NDATION, 


[K] 


the  strict  sense).  Thus  arose  the  group  of  C'ldhnlic 
Epistles,,  for  the  most  part  denominated  apostolic, 
originally  anonymous  writings  (most  scholars  held 
them  to  be  pseudonymous),  whose  ancient  authority 
could  be  rescued  only  by  ascribing  them  to  the 
twelve  apostles.  This  group,  however,  with  the 
exception  of  two  epistles,  did  not  become  fixed  as 
regards  its  extent  or  its  dignity  until  the  4th  century 
and  even  later,  and  this  without  thereby  really  en- 
dangering— strange  to  say — the  respect  given  to  the 
entire  collection.  Second,  the  apocalypses  presented 
themselves  for  admission  to  the  new  collection.  But 
the  time  which  produced  them  was  wholly  gone  b}- 
and  indeed  combated  them,  and  the  nature  of  the 
new  collection  required  apostolic,  not  prophetic 
sanction ;  the  latter  rather  excluded  it.  The  apoca- 
lypses of  Peter  and  John  could,  therefore,  alone  come 
under  consideration.  The  former  was  quickly  re- 
jected for  some  unknown  reason  and  the  latter  was 
finally  <'J9  ^£«  T:up6'i  rescued  for  the  new  collection. 

A  closed  New  Testament  there  was  not  in  the 
churches  in  the  3d  century ;  but  where  there  was  at 
hand  a  second  collection,  it  was  used  virtually  as  the 
Old  Testament  and  no  quetstions  were  raised.  The 
incomplete  collection  served  ad  hoc  every  purjwse 
which,  as  one  might  think,  the  complete  alone  could 
serve.  Catholicism  never  came,  however,  to  be  a 
religion  of  the  book.  The  words  of  the  Lord  re- 
mained the  standard  for  the  guidance  of  life,  and 
the  development  oi  doctrine  pursued  its  own  course 


Cathollo 
E|iist!»s 
Added. 


Ap<x"i- 
lypst's  <if 
Peter  and 

John. 


No  Closed 
N.  T.  in 
3<1  Cen- 
tury. 


M 


< 

Im- 

p 

if 

•I  'I 


Ilt'sults 

wliich  ful- 

Iftwed  Ai- 

coptancf  (jf 

N.  T. 


I    .1 


!  'ilr 


04 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY   OF   DOliMA. 


at  all  times,  being  influenced  only  in  a  secondary 
way  by  the  New  Testament. 

Results:  (1)  The  New  Testament  conserved  the 
most  valuable  part  of  the  primitive  literature;  but 
it  gave  over  to  destruction  almost  all  the  remaining 
literature  as  being  arrogant  or  corrupt;  (2)  the  New 
Testament  made  an  end  to  the  production  of  inspired 
writings,  but  it  also  made  an  ecclesiastically  profane 
literature  possible  and  likewise  set  fixed  limits  to  it ; 
(3)  the  New  Testament  obscured  the  historic  sense 
and  the  historical  origin  of  its  own  documents,  but 
it  at  the  same  time  occasioned  the  necessity  of  a 
thorough-going  study  of  these  documents  and  pro- 
vided for  their  active  influence  in  the  Church ;  (4) 
the  New  Testament  repressed  the  enthusiastic  ten- 
dency to  the  production  of  "  facts  " ;  but,  in  requiring 
that  all  the  statements  in  its  own  documents  should 
be  considered  entirely  harmonious,  clear,  sufficient 
and  spiritual,  it  necessitated  the  learned,  theological 
production  of  new  facts  and  mythological  concep- 
tions ;  (5)  the  New  Testament  set  boundaries  to  the 
time  of  revelation,  exalted  the  apostolic  age  and 
the  apostles  themselves  to  an  unapproachable  height 
and  thereby  helped  to  lower  the  Christian  ideal  and 
requirements,  but  it  likewise  preserved  the  kno2vl- 
edge  and  power  of  the  same,  and  became  a  goad  for 
the  conscience;  (G)  the  New  Testament  guarded 
effectively  the  hesitating  canonical  esteem  for  the  Old 
Testament;  but  it  likewise  mac^o  it  an  offeiuo  to 
exalt  the  Christian  revelation  above  that  of  the  Old 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


l»5 


Testament,  and  to  brood  over  the  specijic  meaning 
of  the  former;  (7)  the  New  Testament  encouraged 
the  fatal  tendency  to  identify  the  Master's  words 
with  apostolic  tradition  (teaching  of  the  apostles), 
but  through  the  acceptance  of  the  Pauline  Epistles  it 
set  as  a  standard  the  loftiest  expression  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  redemption,  and  through  the  canoniza- 
tion of  Paulinism  it  introduced  most  valuable  leaven 
into  the  histor}-  of  the  Church ;  (8)  through  the  claim 
of  the  Catholic  Church  that  both  Testaments  be- 
longed to  her  alone,  she  robbed  all  other  Christian 
churches  of  their  title-right  to  them ;  but  while  she 
made  the  New  Testament  a  norm,  she  constructed 
an  armory  from  which  in  the  time  to  come  the 
sharpest  weapons  have  been  draw^n  out  against  her- 
se'.f. 

C.   The  Transformation  of  the  Episcopal  Office    Tmnsfor- 
in  the  Church  into  the  Apostolic  Office.     Historu    KpiscoiKli 
of  the  Transformation  of  the  Idea  of  the  Church.    ^^R^^."''^ 
The  claim  that  the   apostles  formulated  a  rule  of 
faith  was  not  sufficient;  it  was  necessary  to  show 
that  the  Church  had  kept  the  same  ^fure  and  that  she 
possessed  within  herself  a  living  court  of  appeal  to 
decide  all  points  under  controversy.     Originally  men 
simply  referred  to  the  churches  founded  by  the  apos- 
tles, in  which  the  true  teaching  was  to  be  found,  and 
to  the  connection  of  these  with  the  disciples  of  the 
apostles  and   the   "ancients".     But  this  appeal   of- 
fered no  absolute  certainty;  heme  Irenajus  and  Ter- 
tullian,  influenced  by  the  imposing  development  of 


n 


H 


y  ■ 
.Iff » 


M 


m 


-  — ««,««(,.».-j,.i.ijiasiaBiSfi-i 


90 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   IILSTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


■; 


i- 


ll! 


!  vi 


f     '! 


Apostolic 
Succes- 
sion. 


the  episcopate  in  Rome  '*nd  by  the  aiicieiit  respect 
once  given  to  the  apostles,  prophets  and  teachers 
now  transferred  to  the  bishops,  so  conceived  of  the 
same  that  the  "orc/o  episcoporum  per  successionem 
ab  initio  decurrens  "  guaranteed  to  them  the  inviola- 
biUty  of  the  apostolic  inheritance.  With  each  this 
thesis  oscillated  between  an  historical  (the  churches 
are  those  founded  by  the  apostles;  the  bishops  are 
the  disciples  of  the  disciples  of  the  apostles)  and  a 
dogmatic  aspect.  Yet  already  with  Irenaeus  the  lat- 
ter is  clearl}^  prominent :  "  episcopi  cum  episcopatus 
successio)ie  cerfuni  veritatis  charisma  acceperunt  " 
(the  charisma  of  truth  depends  upon  the  office  of  the 
bishops  which  rests  upon  the  apostolic  succession). 
This  thesis  is  simply  a  dogmatic  expression  for  the 
exalted  place  which  the  episcopate  had  already 
actually  won  for  itself;  it  did  not,  moreover,  orig- 
inally in  any  way  entirely  identify  apostles  and 
bishops;  it  remained  also  uncertain  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  individual  bishops  and  left  room  still 
for  the  ancient  parity:  spiritus,  ecclesia,  fideles. 
Calixtus  of  Rome,  however  (v.  Tertull.,  de  pudic.j 
HippoL,  Philos.  IX.),  claimed  for  himself  full  apos- 
tolic regard  and  apostolic  powers,  while  TertuUian 
allowed  to  him  only  the  locus  magisterii.  In  the 
Orient  and  in  Alexandria  the  apostolic  character 
of  the  bishops  was  quite  late  in  gaining  recogni- 
tion. Ignatius  knew  nothing  about  it  (the  bishop 
is  the  representative  of  God  unto  his  own  church) 
and  neither  did  Clement,  and  even  the  basal  docu- 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


97 


ment  of  the  xVpost.  Constitutions  is  silent.  Yet  in 
the  time  of  Origen  tlie  doctrine  began  to  establish 
itself  in  Alexandria.  The  idea  of  the  Church  was 
greatly  influenced  by  this  development.  Originally 
the  Church  was  the  heavenly  Bride  of  Christ,  the 
abiding-place  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  its  Christian 
claims  rested  upon  its  possession  of  the  Spirit,  upon 
its  faith  in  God,  its  hope  and  its  well-ordered  life : 
He  who  belongs  to  the  Church  is  sure  of  his 
blessedness  ( Holy  Church) .  Then  the  Church  be- 
came the  visible  establishment  of  this  confession  of 
faith  {fides  in  regula  posita  esf,  habet  legem  et 
salutem  de  observatione  legis) ;  it  is  the  legacy  of 
the  apostles,  and  its  Christian  character  rests  upon 
its  possession  of  the  true  apostolic  teaching  {Catholic 
Church  in  the  sense  of  universality  and  pureness 
of  doctrine, — the  form  of  expression  since  the  erfU  of 
the  2d  century) .  One  must  be  a  member  of  this  em- 
pirical, one  apostolic  Church  in  order  to  partake  of 
salvation,  since  here  alone  is  found  that  knowledge 
which  gives  blessedness.  The  Church  ceased  to  be 
the  sure  communion  of  salvation  and  of  the  saints 
and  became  the  condition  of  salvation  (v.  the  fol- 
lowing chapter).  This  conception  of  the  Church 
(IrensBus,  Tertullian,  Origen)  which  represents  the 
development  of  the  churches  into  the  one  definite 
Church — a  creative  act,  to  be  sure,  of  the  Christian 
spirit — is  not  evangelic,  neither  is  it  hierarchic; 
it  has  never  entirely  disappeared  from  the  Catholic 
churches.     But  almost  from  the  beginning  it  was  in- 


Idoa  of 
Church 

IiiHiH'nft'd 
by  this 

Develop- 
ment. 


-'. 


'  H« 


;.  !     , 


I  'f 


il 


I 


i       I 


I  [ 


h  ■ 


!'  t 


H 


11 


•ii 


iHrnrchi- 

oal  Church 

Mi'a. 


Calixtus, 
Cyprian. 


1>8 


OUTLINES  OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOCiMA. 


flueiiced  by  tho  h  ierarch  ical  Church  idea.  The  hitter 
was  only  hinted  at  by  Irenieus  and  Tertullian  (the 
last  named  finally  contended  against  it  and  in  this 
contention  he  even  reverted  to  the  primitive  Church 
idea:  spiritus  equals  ccclesia,  universal  priesthood) ; 
it  was  farther  developed  by  Calixtus  and  other 
Roman  priests,  esi)ecially  by  Cyprian,  while  the 
Alexandrians  blended  the  earliest  Church  idea  with 
a  mystic-philosophical  conception,  and  Origen,  al- 
though greatly  impressed  by  the  empirical  Church, 
never  lost  sight  of  its  relative  significance  and  office. 
Calixtus  and  Cyprian  constructed  the  hierarchical 
Church  idea  out  of  existing  relations  and  the  exigen- 
cies which  these  imposed ;  the  latter  rounded  out  the 
standard  of  the  former,  but  on  one  point,  touching 
the  justification  of  the  earthly  character  of  the 
Church,  he  lagged  behind,  while  Calixtus  had  reso- 
lutely advanced  to  its  completion  (v.  the  following 
chapter).  The  crises  were  so  great  in  the  3d  cen- 
tury that  it  was  nowhere  sufficient, — save  in  isolated 
communities, — to  simply  preserve  the  Catholic  faith; 
one  must  obey  the  bishops  in  order  to  guard  the  ex- 
isting Church  against  the  openly  proclaimed  heathen- 
ism (in  practical  life) ,  heresy  and  enthusiasm  (the 
primitive  Christian  recollections) .  The  idea  of  the 
one  episcopally  constituted  Church  became  supreme 
and  the  significance  of  doctrine  as  a  bond  of  union 
was  left  in  the  background:  The  Church,  resting 
upon  the  bishops,  who  are  the  successors  of  the 
apoetV^s,  the  representatives  of  God,  is  by  reason  of 


g 
t 
t 
c 
r( 


THE    LAVINi;    OF  THK   FOUNDATION. 


99 


these  fuiulaincntal  facts  itself  the  apostolic  legacy. 
According  to  Cyprian  the  Church  is  the  seat  of  sal- 
vation {extraquam  nulla  aalus),  as  a  single^  organ- 
ized confederation.  It  rests  wholly  and  solely  upon 
the  episcopate,  which,  as  the  continuation  of  the 
apostolate,  equipped  with  the  powers  of  the  apos- 
tles, is  the  bearer  of  these  powers.  The  union  of  tho 
individual  with  God  and  Christ  is  therefore  con- 
ceivable only  in  the  form  of  subordination  to  the 
bishops.  The  attribute,  however,  of  the  unity  of 
the  Church,  which  is  of  equal  significance  with  that 
of  its  truth,  since  the  unity  comes  only  through  love, 
manifests  itself  primarily  in  the  unity  of  the  epis- 
copate. This  has  been  from  the  beginning  a  unit 
and  it  remains  a  unit  still,  in  so  far  as  the  bishops 
are  installed  by  God  and  continue  in  brotherly  inter- 
change. The  individual  bishops  are  to  be  considered 
not  only  as  leaders  of  their  own  particular  churches, 
but  as  the  foundation  of  the  one  Church  (''ecclesia 
in  episcopo  est").  Thence  it  follows  farthe)*,  that 
the  bishops  of  those  churches  founded  by  the  apos- 
tles possess  no  longer  any  peculiar  dignity  (all  bish- 
ops are  ecjuai,  since  they  are  partakers  of  the  one 
office).  The  Roman  chair,  however,  came  to  have 
a  peculiar  significance,  since  it  was  the  chair  of  the 
apostle  upon  whom  Christ  first  conferred  the  apos- 
tolic gifts  in  order  to  indicate  clearly  the  unity  of 
these  gifts  and  of  the  Church;  and  farther  also,  be- 
cause historically  the  Church  of  this  chair  was  the 
root  and  mother  of  the  one  Catholic  Church.     In  a 


ClmrHi 

Ili'sts  upon 

Episoi- 

piito. 


Roman 
Chair. 


■•;: 


II 


I,  i; 


i 


100       OUTLINES  OF   THE   TIISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 

severe  Carthaginian  crisis,  Cyprian  so  appealed  to 
Rome  as  if  communion  with  this  Church  (its  bishop) 
was  the  guarantee  of  the  truth ;  but  later  he  denied 
the  claims  of  the  Roman  bishop  to  special  rights 
over  other  churches  (contest  with  Stephen).  Fi- 
nally, although  he  placed  the  unity  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church  above  the  unity  in  articles  of 
faith,  the  essence  of  Christianity  was  guarded  by 
him  to  this  extent,  that  he  demanded  of  the  bishops 
everywhere  a  Christian  steadfastness,  otherwise  they 
ipso  facto  would  forfeit  their  office.  Cyprian  also 
as  yet  knew  nothing  of  a  character  indelihilis  of  the 
bishops,  while  Calixtus  and  other  Roman  Inshops 
vindicated  the  same  to  them.  A  consequence  of  his 
tlioory  was,  that  he  closely  identified  heretics  and 
schismatics,  in  which  the  Church  did  not  then  fol- 
low him.  The  great  one  episcopal  Church,  which 
he  presupposed  was  by-the-bye  a  fiction ;  such  a  homo- 
geneous confederation  did  not  in  reality  exist;  Con- 
stantino himself  could  not  complete  it. 


CHAPTER   III. 

CONTINUATION:   THE  OLD  CHRISTIANITY   AND 
THE   NEW   CHURCH. 

[Sec  the  Literature  on  Montanism  and  Novatianism.  ] 


Montan- 

isin,  iNova- 

tiaiii.sm. 


1.  The  denial  of  the  claims  of  the  ethical  life,  the 
paling  of  the  primitive  Christian  hopes,  the  legal  and 
political  forms  under  which  the  churches  protected 


THK    t-AVrxn   OP  TITR    FOrNDATION. 


101 


le 

[d 

d 


tlieniselvcs  aj^aiiist  the  world  and  aj^ainst  hcivsics 
called  forth  soon  after  the  middle  of  tlie  '^*d  century, 
first  in  Asia  Minor,  tlien  in  other  Christian  commu- 
nities, a  reaction  which  sought  to  estaiilisli,  or  rather 
to  re-estahlit>h,  the  primitive  times  find  conditions 
and  to  protect  Christianity  from  the  secularizing 
tendency.  The  result  of  this  crisis  (the  so-called 
Montanist  crisis  and  the  like)  was,  that  the  Church 
asserted  itself  all  the  more  strenuously  as  a  legal 
organization  which  has  its  truth  in  its  historical 
and  objective  foundation,  that  it  accordingly  gave  a 
new  significance  to  the  attribute  of  holiness,  that  it 
expressly  authorized  a  double  state, — a  spiritual  and 
a  secular, — within  itself,  and  a  double  morality,  that 
it  exchanged  its  character  as  the  possessor  of  certain 
salvation  for  that  other,  viz.  to  be  an  indispensable 
condition  for  the  tnmsmission  of  salvation  and  to  be 
an  institution  for  education.  The  Montanists  were 
compelled  to  withdraw  (the  New  Testament  had 
already  thereby  done  good  service),  as  well  as  all 
Christians  who  made  the  truth  of  the  Churcli  de- 
pendent upon  a  rigid  maintenance  of  its  moral  claims. 
The  consequence  was  that  at  the  end  of  the  3d  cen- 
tury two  great  Christian  communities  put  forth 
claims  to  be  the  true  Catholic  Churcli :  viz.  the  na- 
tional Church  confederated  bv  Constantine  and  the 
Novatian  churches  which  we  refused  with  the  rem- 
nant of  Montanism.  The  beginnings  of  the  great 
schism  in  Rome  go  back  to  the  time  of  Hippolytus 
and  Calixtus. 


I .  I 


it 


1 

V 

I' 


t'i! 


;    ; 


ij 


102        OUTMNRS  OF   THE    IIISTOMY    OF   DOfJMA. 

^'"'"i',"""**  'i.  The  M(t!il;i!iist  opposition  liad  uiult^rgont'  a 
groat  trunsfornialion.  Originally  it  was  tlio  stupen- 
dous undertaking  of  a  Christian  prophet  (Montanus), 
who  with  the  assistance  of  proi)h(^tesses  felt  called 
upon  to  realize  for  Christianity  the  rich  prophetic 
promises  of  the  Fourth  Ciosj)el.  lie  interpreted  these 
in  accordance  with  the  Apocalyi)se,  and  proclaimed 
that  the  Paraclete  had  appeared  in  his  own  person, 
in  whom  also  Christ,  yea,  even  Clod  Alnii^ht}',  luul 
come  to  his  own  in  order  to  lead  them  into  all  truth 
and  to  gather  tt)gether  into  one  fold  his  scattered 
flocks.  Accordingly  it  was  Montanus'  highest  aim 
to  lead  the  Christians  forth  from  their  civic  relations 
and  communial  associations  and  to  form  a  new, 
homogeneous  brotherhood  which,  separated  from  the 
world,  should  prepare  itself  for  the  descent  of  the 

oppofWHi  heavenly  Jerusalem.  The  opposition  which  this  ex- 
of  Church,  orbitant  prophetical  message  encountered  from  the 
leaders  of  the  churches,  and  the  persecutions  under 
Marcus  Aurelius,  intensified  the  already  lively  es- 
chatological  expectations  and  increased  the  desire  for 
martyrdom.  That  which  the  movement  lest,  how- 
ever, in  definiteness  (in  so  far  as  the  realization  of 
the  ideal  of  uniting  all  Christians  was  not  accom- 
plished, except  for  a  brief  period  and  within  narrow 
limits)  it  gained  again  after  c.  180  inasmuch  as 
the  proclamation  of  it  invested  earnest  souls  with 
greater  power  and  courage,  which  served  to  retard 
the  growing  secularizing  tendency  within  the  Church. 
In  Asia  and  Phrygia  many  Christian  communities 


THE   LAYING   OF  TlIK    FOUNDATION. 


loa 


acknowledgoil  iu  corporc  the  Divino  mission  of  tlio  ^^'^|',|'',^,'„i" 
prophets ;  in  other  provinces  asscinblies  were  formed  '""J*^'"^- 
in  which  tli(»  ciirrent  teachings  of  tliese  prophets 
were  considered  as  a  (fospel,  at  the  same  time  vari- 
ous modifications  were  going  on  (synipathit^s  of  tlie 
confessors  in  Lyons.  The  Roman  bishops  came  near 
acknowledging  the  new  prophecies).  In  the  Mon- 
tanist  churches  (c.  1!K))  it  was  no  longer  a  question 
of  a  new  organization  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word, 
or  of  a  radical  re-formation  of  the  Christian  organi- 
zations, but  rather,  wherever  the  movement  can  be 
clearly  traced,  were  these  questions  already  pushed 
aside,  even  when  they  were  active  and  influential. 
The  original  prophets  had  set  no  bounds  to  their  en- 
thusiasm ;  there  were  also  no  definite  limits  to  their 
high  pretensions:  God  and  Christ  had  appeared  in 
them ;  the  Prisca  saw  Christ  living  in  female  form ; 
these  prophets  made  the  most  extravagant  prophecies 
and  spoke  in  a  loftier  tone  than  any  one  of  the  apos- 
tles; they  subverted  apostolic  regulations;  they  set 
forth,  regardless  of  every  tradition,  new  command- 
ments for  the  Christian  life;  they  railed  at  the  great 
body  of  Christian  believers ;  they  thought  themselves 
to  be  the  last  and  therefore  the  highest  prophets,  the 
bearers  of  the  final  revelation  of  God.  But  after 
they  had  passed  off  the  stage,  their  followers  sought 
an  agreement  with  the  common  Christian  churches. 
They  recognized  the  great  Church  and  begged  to  be  ^g^^J?^ 
recognized  by  it.  They  were  willing  to  bind  them-  'church.'° 
selves  to  the  apostolic  regula  and  to  the  New  Tes- 


t: 


i  J 


■h    i  .r 


101        (U'TlilNKS   OK    Till',    lllsroKV    <)|.'    I)0(SMA. 

tainciit ;  tli(<3'  no  Ioniser  licsilahMl  to  accept  tlio 
ecclesiuHtical  organization  (the  bishopH).  And  they 
ftccordingly  deniandod  the  recognition  of  their  own 
prophets,  wlioni  tliey  now  Mougiit  to  commend  as 
successors  of  the  earlier  propliets  (prophetic  succes- 
sion);  the  "new"  i)rophecy  is  really  a  /((tcr  rervhi- 
fi'on,  which,  as  the  Cliurch  understands  it,  presui)- 
poses  the  earlier;  and  the  hiter  revelation  i)ertains 
simply  and  solely  (in  addition  to  the  confirmation 
which  it  gives  to  the  Church  fcachhig  as  opposed  to 
the  gnostic)  to  the  burning  questions  of  Christian 
discipline  which  it  decides  in  the  interest  of  a  more 
rigid  observance.  Therein  lay  the  significance  of 
the  new  prophecy  for  its  adherents  in  the  empire 
and  accordingly  ihey  had  bestowed  their  faith  freely. 
Through  the  belief  that  in  Phrygia  the  Paraclete 
had  given  revelations  for  the  entire  Church  in  order 
to  establish  a  relatively  severe  regimen  (n^fraining 
from  second  marriage,  severer  fast  regulations, 
mightier  attestation  of  Christianity  in  daily  life, 
complete  readiness  for  martyrdom) ,  the  original  en- 
thusiasm received  its  death-blow.  But  this  flame 
was  after  all  a  mighty  power,  since  Christendom  at 
large  made,  between  the  years  100  and  220,  the 
greatest  progress  toward  the  secularization  of  the 
Gospel.  The  triumph  of  Montanism  would  have 
been  succeeded  by  a  complete  change  in  the  owner- 
ship of  the  Church  and  in  missionary  operations: 
its  churches  would  have  been  decimated.  Con- 
cessions,   therefore,    (the    New    Testament,    apos- 


THK    LAVIN(i    <»K   TIIK    KnlNDATION. 


lor) 


tolicii  rci/nhi,  rpiscopalc)  <litl  not  lirip  tlio  Monta- 
nistH.  The  l)isln)pH  attackc*!  tlu^  form  of  tin*  lu'w 
propliecy  as  an  innovation,  threw  suspicion  on  its 
content,  interpreted  the  earlier  future  liopes  as  nia- 
terialistic  and  sensuous,  and  declared  the  ethical  de- 
niunds  to  l)0  extreme,  legalistic,  ceremonial,  tfewish, 
contrary  to  the  New  Testament,  .nnd  even  heathenish. 
They  set  over  against  the  claims  of  the  Montanists 
to  authentic  divine  oracles,  the  newly  formed  New 
Testament,  declared  that  every  reijuirement  was  to 
be  found  in  the  declarations  of  the  two  Testaments 
and  thus  clearly  defined  a  irrchtfion  epoch,  which 
extended  to  the  present  time  only  through  the  New 
Testament,  the  apostolic  teaching  and  the  apostolic 
office  of  bishops  (in  this  contest  the  new  ideas  were 
for  the  first  time  made  perfect,  (1)  that  the  Old  Tes- 
tament contained  i)roi)hetical  elements,  thc^  New 
Testament  was  not  prophetic,  but  apostolic,  {'i)  that 
apostolic  dignity  could  not  bo  reached  by  any  person 
of  the  present  day).  They  began  finally  to  distin- 
guish between  the  morality  required  of  the  clergy 
and  that  required  of  the  laity  (thus  in  the  (luestion 
of  one  wife).  In  this  way  they  discredited  that 
which  had  once  been  dear  to  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom, but  which  they  could  no  longer  make  use  of. 
In  so  far  as  they  repelled  the  alleged  misuse,  they 
rendered  the  thing  itself  less  and  less  powerful  (chil- 
iasm,  prophecy,  right  of  laity  to  speak,  rigid  sanc- 
tity), without  being  able  to  entirely  suppress  it.  The 
most  vehement  contest  between  the  parties  was  in 


Altink 

Miiiil/iii- 

Imiii 


i 


[' 

> 

^t '  y^H 

pi, 

^  nr^^H 

i^fii^M 

W 

it 

i 

1 

i 

^ 

!  ■: 


Heiitcd 
Controver- 
sy ahont 
ForKivt'- 
iioss  of 
Siu. 


lOG        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

regard  to  the  (luostion  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  The 
Montanists,  otherwise  acknowledging  the  bishops, 
ascribed  this  right  to  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  {i.e.,  to 
those  who  possess  the  Holy  Spirit), — for  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  is  not  necessarily  attached  to  the  office — 
and  recognized  no  human  right  in  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  which  rested  far  more  on  the  (rare)  laying  hold 
of  the  Di'/ine  mercy  {^''potest  ecclesia  {spirit us) 
donare  delicta,  sed  non  faciam'").  They  therefore 
expelled  from  their  churches  all  who  had  committed 
mortal  sins,  committing  their  souls  to  God.  The 
bishops  on  the  ':)ther  hand,  contrary  to  their  own 
principle,  were  obliged  to  maintain  that  baptism 
alone  cleanses  from  sin,  and  to  vindicate  the  right 
conveyed  by  the  power  of  the  keys  by  a  reference  to 
the  apostolic  office  in  order  to  protect  the  standing 
of  the  ever  less  holy  churches  against  the  dissolu- 
tion which  would  have  resulted  from  the  earlier  re- 
gime. Calixtus  was  the  first  to  make  use  of  the  right 
of  the  bishops  to  forgive  sins  in  the  widest  sense, 
and  to  extend  this  right  even  to  mortal  sins.  He 
was  opposed,  not  onl}^  by  the  Montanist,  Tertullian, 
but  in  Rome  itself  by  a  very  high  ecclesiastical  rival 
bishop  (Hippoly tus) .  The  Montanists  were  com- 
pelled to  withdraw  with  their  "  devil-prophecy",  but 
they  withdrew  willingly  from  a  Church  wdiicli  had 
become  "  unspiritual "  (psj'chic).  The  bishops  as- 
serted the  stability  of  the  Church  at  the  expense  of 
its  Christianity.  In  the  place  of  the  Christianity 
which  had  the  Spirit  in  its  midst,  came  the  Church 


THK    LAVlN(i    OF   THE    lOlNDATION, 


lo: 


re 


organization   which   pc^ssessod    tiio    Now   Te.itanient 
and  the  spiritual  office. 

3.  Meanwhile  the  carrying  out  of  the  pretensions 
of  the  bishops  to  the  right  to  forgive  sins  (opposed 
in  part  by  the  churches  and  the  Christitm  heroes, 
the  confessors)  and  the  extension  of  the  sfune  to 
mortal  sins  (contrary  to  the  early  practice,  the  early 
conception  of  bai)tisni  and  of  the  Church)  was  at- 
tended by  great  difficulties,  although  the  bishops 
encountered  not  only  the  early  practice  of  the  j)rinn- 
tive  rigid  discipline,  but  also  a  wide-spread  laxness. 
The  extension  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  to  adulterers 
was  the  occasion  of  the  schism  of  Hii)polytus.  After 
the  Decian  persecution,  however,  it  was  necessary  to 
declare  even  the  greatest  sin,  apostasy,  as  j)ardona- 
ble,  likewise  to  enlarge  the  ancient  concession  that 
one  capital  sin  after  baptism  might  still  be  ])ardona- 
ble  (a  practice  founded  upon  the  Hernias  Pastor)  and 
to  abolish  all  rights  of  spiritual  persons  (confessors), 
i.e.  to  make  the  forgiveness  of  sin  dependent  ui)on 
a  regular,  casuistic,  bishoply  action  (Cornelius  of 
Rome  and  Cj^prian).  Only  then  was  the  Church 
idea  radically  and  totall}'  changed.  The  Church  in- 
cludes the  pure  and  the  impure  (like  Noah's  ark) ;  its 
members  are  not  collectively  holy  and  every  one  is 
by  no  moans  sure  of  blessedness.  The  Church,  solely 
in  virtue  of  its  endowments,  is  holy  (objective),  and 
these  have  actually  been  conferred,  together  with  the 
})ure  teaching,  upon  the  bisho})s  (priests  and  judges 
in  the  name  of  God) ;  it  is  an  indispensable  salva- 


Bishops 
Assiiiiie    to 

I'lii'trivi' 

Sins.    <'Vfti 

Mortal 

Sins. 


Idea  nf 

Cliin'cli 

Ka.lically 

CliaiiL'i'ii. 


^ 


J 

I 


."! 


-*i('^ 


108        OUTLINKS    OF   THE    HISTORY    OF    DOGMA. 


IJ 


1 


tion  iiistituto,  so  that  no  one  will  bo  blessed  who 
remains  without;  it  is  also  societas  fidei,  but  not 
Jideliiini^  rather  is  it  a  training-school  and  eultus- 
institutc  for  salvation.  It  possesses  also,  in  addition 
to  baptism,  a  second  cure  for  sin,  at  least  in  practice; 
the  theory,  however,  was  still  confused  and  uncer- 
tain. Now  for  the  first  time  were  the  clergy  and 
laity  sharply  distinguished  7'eligiou.slf/  {"^  ecdesia 
est  numerus  cpiscoporum^'')^  and  the  Roman  bish- 
ops stamped  the  clergy  with  a  character  indelibilis 
(not  Cyprian).  Now  also  began  the  theological 
speculation  in  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  Church, 
as  a  communion  of  saints,  to  the  empirical  holy 
Church,  to  the  milder  secularizing  of  Christianity 
Novatian    tempered   by  the  "means  of  grace."     But  all  this 

Opposi- 
tion, could  WKjt  be  accomplished  without  a  great  counter- 
agitation  which  began  at  Rome  [Novatian)  and 
soon  spread  among  all  the  provincial  churches. 
Novatian  required  only  a  minimum,  the  unpardona- 
bleness  of  the  sin  of  apostasy  (upon  the  earth) ,  other- 
wise the  Church  would  no  more  be  holy.  This 
minimum,  however,  had  the  same  significance  as  the 
far  raore  radical  demands  of  the  Montanists  two 
generations  before.  There  was  in  it  a  vital  remnant 
of  the  ancient  Church  idea,  although  it  was  strange 
that  a  Church  should  consider  itself  pure  (katharoi) 
and  truly  evangelical,  merely  because  of  its  unwill- 
ingness to  tolerate  apostates  (later  perhaps  other 
Second  mortal  sinners) .  A  second  Catholic  Church,  stretch- 
chiirch.     ing  from  Spain  to  Asia  Minor,  arose,  whose  archaic 


THE  LAYING  OK  THE  FOUNDATION. 


109 


fragments  of  the  old  discipline,  however,  did  not 
help  it  to  become  a  more  independent  earthly  system 
of  life;  nor  did  it  really  distinguish  itself  from  the 
other  Church,  although  it  declared  the  ministrations 
of  the  same  invalid  (practice  of  re-baptism) . 

With  wisdom,  foresight  and  relative  severity  the 
bishops  in  these  crises  brought  their  churches  around 
to  a  new  attitude.  As  it  was,  they  could  use  only 
one  bishop's  Church  and  they  learned  to  consider 
themselves  rightly  as  its  pupils  and  as  its  sheep. 
At  the  same  time  the  Church  had  taken  on  a 
form  in  which  it  could  be  a  powerful  support  to 
the  state.  Besides,  its  inner  life  was  much  better 
organized  than  formerly  in  the  empire,  and  the 
treasure  of  the  Gospel  was  still  ever  in  its  keeping 
(the  image  of  Christ,  the  assurance  of  eternal  life,  the 
exercise  of  mercy)  as  once  the  monotheism  and  piety 
of  the  Psalmists  remained  alive  within  the  hard  and 
foreign  shell  of  the  Jewish  Church. 

Note  1.  The  Priesthood.  The  rounding  out  of  the  '^'''^j^'jp*^- 
old  Catholic  Church  idea  is  clearly  manifested  in  the 
completed  development  of  a  priestly  order.  Hier- 
ourgical  priests  are  found  first  among  the  gnostics 
(Marcion's  followers) ;  in  the  Church  the  prophets 
(Didache)  and  the  local  ministers  (I.  Clement)  were 
formerly  likened  to  the  Old  Testament  priests.  Ter- 
tuUian  first  calls  the  bishop  a  priest,  and  from  that 
time  until  about  250  the  priestly  character  of  the  bish- 
ops and  presbyters  was  evolved  very  rapidly  in  the 
Orient,  as  well  as  in  the  Occident ;  so  strong  indeed 


ho(xl. 


<i 


wHiiimi 


no     outlinb:s  of  the  history  of  dogma. 


¥y 


Appeal 

MaUt'  to 

.It'wish 

System. 


Sacrifice. 


was  the  influence  of  heathenism  at  this  point  that  an 
ordo  of  priestly  assistants  (lower  ordination)  arose 
(in  the  Occident  first).  The  completed  idea  of  priest 
meets  us  first  in  Cyprian,  in  the  Roman  bishops  of  that 
time,  and  in  the  document  which  lies  at  the  basis  of 
the  Apostolic  Constitutions.  The  bishops  (second- 
arily also  the  presbyters)  were  held  to  be  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Cliurch  before  God  (they  alone  are 
permitted  to  bring  the  offering)  and  representatives 
of  God  before  the  Church  (they  alone  grant  or  with- 
hold the  Divine  grace  as  judges  in  the  place  of  God 
and  Christ;  they  are  the  depositaries  of  the  myster- 
ies, who  dispense  a  grace  which  they  thought  to  bo 
an  anointing  of  a  materialistic  sort).  In  support  of 
this  claim,  appeal  was  made  increasingly  to  the  Old 
Testament  priests  and  the  entire  Jewish  cultus  sys- 
tem, naturally  in  a  supplementary  way.  Doors  and 
windows  were  thus  thrown  open,  as  regards  the 
rights  and  duties  of  the  priests,  toward  heathenism 
and  Judaism,  after  that  they  had  disregarded  the 
exhortation  of  the  aging  Tertullian  to  return  to  a 
common  priesthood.  Tithes,  cleansings  and  finally 
Sabbath  ordinances  (transferred  to  Sunday)  were 
graduall}'  established. 

Notei.  The  Sacrificial  Offering.  Priesthood  and 
sacrifice  condition  each  other.  The  sacrificial  idea 
had  from  the  beginning  the  widest  play  in  the 
Church  (see  Book  I.  Chap.  3,  Sec.  T) ;  therefore 
the  new  conception  of  the  priest  must  of  necessity 
influence  the  conception  of  the  sacrifice,  even  though 


the 
tore 
nty 
igh 


THE    LAYING   OF    THE    FOINDATIOX, 


111 


the  old  representation  (pure  sacrifice  of  the  spirit, 
sacrifice  of  praise,  the  whole  life  a  sacrifice)  still 
remained.  This  inlluence,  manifested  itself  in  two 
ways,  (1)  within  the  Christian  life  of  sacrifice 
was  introduced  the  special  acts  of  fasting,  of  vol- 
untary celibacy,  of  martyrdom,  etc.  more  and  more 
prominently  (see  among  others  Hermas)  and  these 
received  a  meritorious,  and  even  "  satisfaction " 
significance  (see  Tertul.) ;  this  development  appears 
complete  in  Cyprian.  To  him  it  is  self-evident  that 
the  Christian,  who  cannot  remain  sinless,  must 
through  penance  (atoning  sacrifice)  reconcile  the 
angry  God.  Deeds  done,  where  special  sins  are  not 
to  be  erased,  entitle  one  to  a  special  reward.  Next 
to  penitential  exercises,  the  giving  of  alms  is  the 
most  effective  means  (prayer  without  alms  is  barren 
and  fruitless) .  In  the  writing,  Dc  ope  re  ef  eleenios. , 
Cyprian  has  given  an  elaborate  theory,  one  might 
say,  concerning  alms  as  a  means  of  grace  which  a 
man  can  provide  and  which  God  accepts.  Follow- 
ing the  Decian  persecution  i\\i>  opera  et  eleemosynae 
crowded  into  the  absolution  system  of  the  Church 
and  secured  therein  a  firm  footing :  ( )ne  can — through 
God's  indulgence — win  again  for  himself  his  Chris- 
tian standing  through  works.  If  men  had  remained 
wholly  satisfied  with  this,  the  entire  system  of  moral- 
ity would  have  been  encompassed  by  it.  Hence  it 
was  necessary  to  enlarge  the  conception  of  graiia 
(lei,  and  not  as  hitherto  to  make  it  depend  s(jlely 
upon  the  sacrament  of  bai)tism.    This  was  first  accom- 


Mcritori- 

(lUS 

Works. 


14   J 


;;  l\ 


«i 


]\ 


LV 


112       OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


Priestly 
Re-enact- 


iil- 


ii 


$ 


Christ. 


plished,  however,  by  Augustine;  (2)  the  idea  of 
"nfil^H^T'  sacrifice  underwent  a  change  in  the  cultus.  Here 
also  is  Cypi'itin  epoch-making.  He  first  clearly  as- 
sociated the  specific  off^'ering  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
with  the  specific  priesthood;  he  first  declared  the 
passio  domiui,  and  also  the  sanguis  Christi  and 
the  doniiiiica  hostia  the  object  of  the  eucharistic 
offering,  and  thereby  reached  the  idea  of  the  priestly 
re-enacting  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  (^z  -fwnifo(,a  zob 
(TU)!iaro^  xai  to^j  a'tiuiro^  also  in  the  apostolic  Church 
regulations) ;  he  placed  the  Lord's  Supper  decidedly 
under  the  point  of  view  of  the  incorporation  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  individual  with  Christ,  and  cer- 
tified in  a  clear  way  for  the  first  time  that  the 
commemoration  of  those  taking  part  in  the  offering 
{vivi  et  defuncti)  had  a  special  {deprecatory)  sig- 
nificance. The  real  effect  of  the  sacrificial  meal  for 
those  participating  was,  however,  the  making  of 
prayers  for  each  other  more  efficacious ;  for  unto  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  in  the  fullest  sense  this  act  could, 
notwithstanding  all  the  enrichment  and  lofty  repre- 
sentations of  the  ceremony,  not  be  referred.  There- 
fore the  claim  that  the  service  was  the  re-enactment 
of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  remained  still  a  mere  claim ; 
for  against  the  conception  so  closely  related  to  the 
cultus  of  the  times,  that  participation  in  the  service 
cleansed  from  sin  as  in  the  mysteries  of  the  magna 
mater  and  of  Mithras,  the  fundamental  ecclesiastical 
principle  of  baptism  and  repentance  stood  in  opposi- 
tion.    As  a  sacrificial  act  the  Lord's  Supper  never 


lip 


rou 


THE   LAYING   OF  THE   FOUNDATION. 


113 


Means  of 
Grace, 


attained  to  ecjual  importance  with  baptism;  but  to 
the  popular  imagination  this  solemn  ritual,  modelled 
after  the  ancient  mysteries,  must  have  gained  the 
highest  significance. 

Xote  3.  Mcaufi  of  Grace,  Baptism  and  Euclia- 
rifit.  That  which  since  Augustine  has  been  called  b^p^"^'"- 
"  means  of  grace  ",  the  Church  of  the  2d  and  Ikl  cen- 
tury did  not  possess,  save  in  baptism :  According  to 
tlio  strict  theory  the  baptized  could  not  expect  any 
new  bestowal  of  means  of  grace  from  Christ,  he 
must  rather  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ.  But  in  practice 
men  possessed  in  absolution,  from  the  moment  when 
mortal  sins  were  absolved,  a  real  means  of  grace, 
whose  significance  was  screened  by  baptism.  Re- 
flection upon  this  means  of  grace  remained  as  yet 
wholly  uncertain,  in  so  far  as  the  thought  that  God 
absolves  the  sinner  through  the  priest  was  crossed 
by  the  other  (see  above) ,  that  the  penitential  acts  of 
sinners  the  rather  secure  forgiveness.  The  ideas  con- 
cerning baptism  did  not  essentially  change  (Hoefling, 
Sacrament  der  Taufe.  2  Bdd.  184G).  Forgiveness 
of  sins  was  looked  upon  in  general  as  the  result  of 
baptism  (however,  here  also  a  moral  consideration 
entered :  The  sins  of  the  unbaptized  are  sins  of  blind- 
ness ;  therefore  it  is  fit  that  God  should  absolve  the 
penitent  from  them) ;  actual  sinlessness,  which  it  was 
necessary  now  to  preserve,  was  considered  the  result 
of  forgiveness.  Often  there  is  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  remissio  and  the  consecutio  ceterni- 
tatis  the   absolutio  mortis,  regeueratio  hominis, 


'H' 


'it 


fl 


f 

(1 


\ 

i 

1 

1 
1  , 

'i 

1, 

1 

it' 

( 

i  ^ 

i 

4i 

^ 

;'Mm 

wm 

( 4;4r^ 

■vw 

1 

^r^^ 

Wfr-. 

1 

''','M 

Pg 

■i\ 


f , 


Mystr- 
riuiii. 


Lord's 
Supper. 


114       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTOKY   OF   DOGMA. 

restitutio  ad  similitndineiii  (Jci,  ronsecutio  spiri- 
tus  snncti  {'^lavacrnm  rcfjcnerniionis  et  scmctiji- 
cafitmis''),  and  all  possible  blessings  as  well.  The 
cver-ineroasiTig  enriehment  of  the  ritual  is  in  part  a 
consecpienco  of  the  purpose  to  symbolize  these  pre- 
supi)ose(l  rich  effects  of  baptism;  in  part  it  owes  its 
origin  to  the  desire  to  worthily  ecpiip  the  great  mtjs- 
tei'inm.  An  explanation  of  the  separate  acts  had 
already  begun  (confirmation  bj-  the  bishop).  The 
water  was  looked  upon  as  a  symbol  and  vehicle. 
The  introduction  of  infant  baptism  lies  wholly  in 
the  dark  (in  the  time  of  Tertullian  it  was  already 
wide-spread,  but  condemned  by  him,  de  hapt.  18, 
because  he  held  that  the  cunctatio  was  indicated 
by  reason  of  i\\Q iwndus  of  the  act;  Origen  referred 
it  back  to  the  apostles).  The  attempts  of  some  to 
repeat  baptism  were  repelled.  The  Lord's  Supper 
was  looked  upon  not  only  as  an  offering,  but  also  as 
a  divine  gift  (Monographien  von  Doellinger  1826, 
Kahnis  1851,  Rueckert  185G),  whose  effect,  however, 
was  never  strictly  defined,  because  the  rigid  scheme 
(baptismal  grace,  baptismal  duties)  excluded  such. 
Imparting  of  the  Divine  life  through  the  Holy  Sup- 
per was  the  chief  representation,  closely  connected 
with  purely  superstitious  ideas  {<fd/i, aaxnv  fhHa\>a(Tia(i)  \ 
the  spiritual  and  the  physical  were  strangely  mixed 
(the  bread  as  ^vwrr:?  communication  and  ?">'j').  No 
Church  father  made  a  clear  discrimination  here: 
The  realistic  became  spiritualistic  and  the  spiritu- 
alistic   mystical;    but    the   forgiveness  of  sins   re- 


lll'f 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOrXDATION. 


115 


^v 


ixed 

No 

ere : 

•itu- 

re- 


treated  entirely  from  view.     In  aecordance  with  this 
the  representation  of  the  relation  of  the  visil)le  ele- 
ments to  the  body  of  Christ  bej^^an  to  take  form.     A 
problem    (whether   syiiil)olieal  or   realistic)    no   ont^ 
dreamed  of:   The  symbol  is  the  inherently  potential 
mystery  (vehicle),  and  the  mystery  apart  from  the 
symbol  was  inconceivable.     The  flesh  of  Christ  is 
itself  "spirit"  (no  one  perhaps  thought  of  the  his- 
torical body) ;  but  that  the  spirit  becomes  perceptible 
and   tangible,  was   even   the  distinguishing   mark. 
The   anti-gnostic   fathers  recognized  that   the   con- 
secrated bread  was  composed  of  two  inseparable  ele- 
ments,— one  earthly  and  tlio  other  heavenly, — and 
thus  saw  in  the  sacrament  that  which  was  denied  by 
the  gnostics,  viz. :  The  union  of  the  spiritual  and  the 
fleshly  and  the  warrant  for  the  resurrection  of  the 
flesh  which  is  nourished  by  the  blood  of  the  Lord 
(even  so  Tertullian,  Avho  has  falsely  been  classed  as 
a  pure  symbolist).     Justin  spoke  of  a  transforma- 
tion, but  of  a  transformation  of  the  participants;  the 
idea  of  the  transformation  of  the  elements  was,  how- 
ever, already  taking  form.     The  Alexandrians  saw 
here,  as   in  everything  which  the  Church  at  large     Ai.'xan- 
did,  the  mystery  behind  the  mystery ;  they  accommo- 
dated  themselves  to  the   administration,  but   they 
wished   to  be  such   spiritual   Christians   that   they 
might  be  continually  nourished  by  the  Logos  and 
might   partake  of    a    perpetual   eucharist.     Every- 
where the  service  was  departing  from  its  (jriginal 
significance  and  was  made  mon;  and  more  precise^  as 


Justin. 


''I 
.'■  Ill 


i^     I 


i! 


I 


; 


:i 


11 


Jlvsturit'.s. 


116       OUTLINES   OK   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

regards  its  form  and  content,  both  by  the  learned 
and  ignorant  (practice  of  infant  communion  testified 
to  by  C-yprian) . 

Magical  mysteries,  superstition,  authoritative 
faith  and  obedience,  on  the  one  side,  and  a  highly 
realistic  representation  of  the  freedom,  ability  and 
responsibility  of  the' individual  in  moral  matters,  on 
the  other  side,  is  the  mark  of  Catholic  Christendom. 
In  religious  matters  authoritatively  and  supersti- 
tiously  bound,  therefore  passive;  in  moral  matters 
free  and  left  to  themselves,  therefore  active. 

That  the  Roman  church  led  the  way  throughout 
in  this  process  of  broadening  the  churches  into  cath- 
olicity is  an  historical  fact  that  can  be  unquestiona- 
bly proven.  But  the  philosophic-scientific  system  of 
doctrine,  which  was  evolved  at  the  same  time  out  of 
the  faith,  is  not  the  work  of  the  Roman  church  and 
its  bishops. 


■■ji 


THE  LAYINO  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


ii: 


II.    ESTABLISHMENT  OF  CHRISTIANITY  AS 

DOCTRINE   AND    ITS    GRADUAL 

SECULARIZATION. 


i' 


ClIAPTKU  IV. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHRISTIANITY   AND   PHILOSOPHY. 

THE   APOLOGISTS. 

M.  V.  Eugelhardt,  Das  Christen thuin  Justin's,  1878.  Kiilin, 
Octaviua,  1883.  Ausgabe  Uer  Apologeteu  in  it  Comnieutar, 
von  Otto. 

1.  The  apologists  wishing  to  declare  and  defend   tikapoi- 

ogist.s. 

the  Christianity  of  the  churches  stood  therefore  in 
all  things  upon  the  hasis  of  the  Old  Testament,  em- 
phasized the  universalism  of  the  Christian  revela- 
tion and  held  fast  to  the  traditional  eschatology. 
They  rejected  gnosticism  and  saw  in  the  moral 
power  which  faith  gave  to  the  uncultured  a  princi- 
pal proof  of  its  genuineness.  But  anxious  to  present 
Christianity  to  the  educated  as  the  highest  and  surest  christian- 
philosophy,  thoy  elaborated  as  truly  Christian  the  p,','y"/i^". 
moral  cast  of  thought  with  which  the  Gentile  Chris-  '"^""'" 
tians  from  the  beginning  had  stamped  the  Gospel, 
thereby  making  Christianity  rational  and  giving 
it  a  form  which  appealed  to  the  common  sense  of  all 
earne^'t,  thinking  and  reasoning  men  of  the  times. 
Besides,  they  knew  how  to  use  the  traditional,  posi- 
tive material,  the  Old  Testament  as  well  as  the  his- 
tory and  worship  of  Christ,  simply  as  a  verification 
and  attestation  of  this  rational  religion  which  had 


k  1. 


f! 

*  1 


•J 


•V 


,(h,' 


HI 


pi 


I 


■ 


IIK        OLTMNKS   OK   TIIK    illSTOlCV    OK    I)0(iMA. 

Imm'U  liillicrto  waiiliii}^  Jiiid  had  Imhui  soiij^lii  fur  with 
fVrv(!Mt  «h»sir(>.  In  tlio  a|)<)!n;^Ttic  thj'ology  C'liriH- 
tiaiiit}'  is  concoivccl  as  a  religious  clovelopment 
brouglit  about  by  God  hiiiisdf  and  corrospouding 
to  tho  primitivo  condition  of  man  and  placed  in 
the  sharpest  contrast  with  all  polytheistic  national 
religions  and  ceremonial  observances.  With  the 
gr(»atest  energy  the  apologists  proclaimed  it  to  be 
the  religion  of  the  spirit,  of  freedom  and  of  absolute 
chriHtian  morality.  The  whole  positive  material  of  Christian- 
formwl.  ^*^^y»  however,  was  transformed  into  a  great  scheme  of 
evidence;  religion  did  not  obtain  its  content  from 
historical  facts — it  received  it  from  Divine  revela- 
ti<m,  which  is  self- witnessing  in  the  creature-reason 
and  freedom  of  mankind — but  the  historical  facts 
serve  for  the  attestation  of  religion,  for  its  elucida- 
tion, as  against  its  partial  obscuration,  and  for  its 
universal  spreading. 

And  that  was  what  the  majority  were  seeking. 
In  what  religion  and  morality  consist,  that  they 
believed  they  knew;  but  that  these  are  realities, 
that  their  rewards  and  punishments  are  sure,  that 
the  true  religion  excludes  all  forms  of  polytheism  and 
idolatr)^,  were  claims  for  which  they  had  no  guaran- 
tee. Christianity  as  an  actual  revelation  brought 
the  certainty  they  desired.  It  gave  to  the  highest 
product  of  Greek  philosophy  and  to  the  sovereignty 
of  theistic  morality  victory  and  permanence ;  it  gave 
to  this  philosophy  as  knowledge  of  the  world  and  as 
morality  for  the  first  time  the  courage  to  free  itself 


TIIK    LAYINCJ    OK  TIIK   F()INI)ATK)N. 


110 


tiVf 


from  tlio  polytlu'isiM  <>f  t!u'  past  jiiul  to  doseviul  from 
tho  piano  of  (ho  learned  to  tho  plane  of  tho  common 
jKioplo. 

Tlio  ai)()lo!^ists  wero  in  contrast  with  tho  gnostics  Aj><.i.>;?istH 
cunseri'dtici'^  inasmuch  as  thoy  wore  not  really  dis- 
posed to  investigate  at  any  ixjint  the  traditions  of  the 
Church  or  to  make  the  content  of  the  same  compre- 
hensible. Tlio  argument  from  prophecy,  now  liow- 
ever  formulated  in  the  most  external  way,  allied 
them  with  the  Church  at  large.  The  gnostics  sought 
in  the  Gosi)el  a  netr  reliyion,  the  apologists  by 
means  of  the  Gospel  were  confirmed  in  their  relig- 
ions  moral  sense.  The  former  emphasized  the  re- 
demptive idea  and  made  everything  subordinate  to 
it;  the  latter  brought  all  within  the  radius  of  natural 
religion  and  relegated  tho  redemptive  idea  to  the 
circumference.  Both  hellenized  the  Gospel;  but 
only  tho  speculations  of  tho  ai)ologists  were  at  once 
legitimized,  because  they  directed  everything  against 
polytheism  and  left  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
kerygma  untouched  and  emphaKized  in  the  clearest 
manner  freedom  and  responsibility.  Aj)ologists  and 
gjiostics  carried  forv/ard  tho  work  which  the  Alex- 
andrian Jewish  thinker  (Pliilo)  had  begun  as  regards 
to  the  Old  Testament  religion;  but  they  divided  the 
work,  so  to  speak,  between  them :  The  latter  devot- 
ing themselves  rather  to  the  Platonic-religious  side 
of  the  problem  and  the  former  to  the  stoic-rational- 
istic side.  The  division  however  could  not  be  sharply 
made ;  no  apologist  entirely  overlooked  the  redemp- 


Apolopists 
mitl  Olios- 
tics  ("on- 
timn*«l 
Work  of 
I'hilo. 


t 


,')" 


w 


/ 
I 


ii 


;  ' 


120       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


,!  1'  ■ 


iW  I 


li 


IrenH'us 

Two  I'rub- 
leuis. 


Christian- 
ity is  Plii- 
losopliy 
and  Reve- 
lation : 
Thesis  o,' 
Apolop^'ots. 


tive  irlea  (rcdemplioii  fi-Din  the  pinver  of  the  demons 
can  be  wrought  only  bj"  the  Logos).  AVith  Irenseus 
begins  again  in  the  theological  work  of  the  Church 
the  blending  of  the  two  problems ;  not  only  the  con- 
test with  gnosticism  made  this  necessary,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  age  turned  more  and  more  from  the 
stoic  morality  to  the  Neo-Platonic  mysticism,  within 
whosb  shell  lay  concealed  the  impulse  toward  religion. 
2.  Christianity  is  philosophu  and  revelation: 
This  is  the  thesis  of  every  apologist  from  Aristides 
to  Minucius  Felix.  In  the  declaration  that  it  is 
philosophy,  the  apologists  encountered  the  wide- 
spread opinion  among  the  churches,  that  it  is  the 
antithesis  to  all  worldly  wisdom  (see  the  testimonj^ 
of  Celsus) ;  but  they  reconciled  this  difference  through 
tiio  friendly  understanding  that  Christianity  is  of 
supernatural  origin  and  as  revelation,  notwithstand- 
ing its  Tc  'ional  content,  cannot  be  apprehended  save 
by  a  diviuv  iy  illumined  understanding.  On  the 
principles  v.  jderlying  this  conception  the  apologists 
v\'ere  all  agreed  (Aristides,  Justin,  Tatian,  Melito, 
Atlicnagc;  -aS;  Theophilus,  Tertullian,  Minucius  Felix 
and  othci  i  whose  writings  are  attributed  to  Justin) . 
The  stron^^ost  impress  of  stoic  morality  and  rational- 
ism is  found  ill  Minucius ;  Justin's  writings  (Apol- 
ogy and  Dialogue)  have  the  most  in  common  with 
the  faith  cf  the  churches.  On  the  other  hand  Justin 
and  Athenagoras  think  the  most  favorably  of  philos- 
ophy and.  of  philosophers,  while  in  the  succeeding 
time  the  judgment  became  ever  harsher  (already  by 


! 


D 


THE  LAYING  OP  THE  FOUNDATION. 


121 


lie 


.1- 
ih 
n 


Tatian)  without  changing  the  view  of  the  philosophic 
content  of  Christianity.  The  general  conviction  may  Summarr. 
be  thus  summarized :  Christianity  is  philosophy,  be- 
cause it  has  a  rational  element  and  because  it  gives  a 
satisf actor}"  and  generally  comprehensible  ans\^er  to 
those  questions  in  regard  to  which  all  true  philoso- 
phers have  exercised  themselves;  but  it  is  not  a  phi- 
losophy,— indeed  it  is  the  direct  antithesis  to  philos- 
ophy, so  far  as  it  is  free  from  all  mere  notions  and 
opinions  and  refates  polytheism,  i.e.,  originates 
from  a  revelation,  therefore  has  a  supernntural,  Di- 
vine origin,  upon  which  finally  the  truth  and  cer- 
tainty of  its  teaching  alone  rest.  This  contrast  with 
pliilosophy  shows  itself  also  above  all  in  the  unphil- 
osophical  form  in  which  the  Christian  preaching 
went  forth.  This  thesis  permits  in  detail  various 
judgments  in  regard  to  the  concrete  relation  of 
Christianity  and  philosophy,  and  it  urged  the  apolo- 
gists to  labor  at  the  problem,  why  then  the  rational 
needed  to  be  revealed  at  all?  The  following  general 
convictions  however  may  also  be  laid  down  here: 
(1)  Christianity  is,  according  to  the  apologists,  rev-  christian- 
elation,  i.e.  it  is  the  Divine  wisdom  which  from  uf 
old  has  been  proclaimed  through  the  iwopliets  and 
possesses  through  its  origin  absolute  trustworthiness, 
tvhich  is  also  clearly  evidenced  in  the  fulfilment 
of  the  ivords  of  the  prophets  (the  evidence  from 
prophecy  as  the  only  sure  evitionce;  it  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  content  of  religion,  but  is  an  accompani- 
ment to  it).     As  Divine  wisdom  Christianity  stands 


elutiou. 


1 


•  , 


1 1  m  j 

w 

I  III      i    } 


BU^i 


.1 


fty  is  Pi;i- 
losophy. 


Revelation 
Necessary. 


Philoso- 
phers In- 
debted to 
Prophets. 


Christ 
ouly  B^ni- 
phatii/ed 
Prophets. 


122       OUTLINES   OP   THE    HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

opposod  to  }«11  natural  aiul  philohophical  knowledge 
and  makes  an  end  to  sncli.  {'I)  Christianity  is  the 
manifestation  which  accords  with  the  natural,  thouj^h 
darkened  reason  of  mankind;  it  includes  all  the 
essential  elements  of  philosophy — it  is  therefore  the 

philosophy  {fj  >:«''''  i,"-''''-^  (ftXaniKfia^  ij  /3fa/>(5«/>ury  (fihtcrixfia) 

— and  it  assists  mankind  to  realize  the  truths  which 
philosophy  contains.  (3)  Revelation  of  the  rational 
was  and  is  necessary,  because  mankind  has  fallen 
under  the  dominion  of  demons,  (t)  The  efforts  of 
the  philosophers  to  discover  the  true  knowledge  have 
been  fruitless,  which  is  above  all  clearly  shown  by 
the  fact  that  neither  polytheism  nor  the  wide-spread 
immorality  has  bean  overthrown  by  them.  So  far  as 
the  philosophers  have  discovered  any  truth,  they  are 
indebt'^d  for  it  to  the  prophets  (thus  the  Jewish  Alex- 
andrian philosophers  already  taught)  from  whom 
they  borrow^ed  it;  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  uncertain 
whether  they  also  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
any  fragment  of  the  truth  through  the  sporadic  activ- 
ity of  the  Logos  (see  Justin  on  S<  ?rates) ;  certain  is 
it,  however,  that  many  apparent  truths  of  the  philos- 
ophers are  the  aping  of  truth  by  evil  spirits  (to  these 
also  the  whole  of  polytheism  was  referred,  wliicli  is 
partly  aLo  the  aping  of  Christian  institutions).  (5) 
The  acknowledgment  cf  Christ  is  simpl}"  included 
in  the  acknowledgment  of  the  prophetic  wisdom ;  a 
new  content  the  teaching  of  the  prophets  did  not 
receive  through  Christ;  he  only  gave  it  currency 
and  energy  (triumph  over  the  demons;   Justin  and 


THE    liAYINTJ    OF   THE    FOrXDATTOT^T. 


1 :3:] 


in 


id 

a 

)t 

id 


Tortullian  ivcogiiizr  a  new  rlcnKiii  in  tli«' (Gospel). 
(0)  Tlio  practical  luvStiiig  of  Cliristianity  lies,  (a)  in 
its  apprehensibility  (the  unlearned  and  women  bo- 
come  wise),  (b)  in  the  expulsion  of  demons,  (c)  in  its 
ability  to  produce  a  holy  life.  In  the  a};ologists 
Christianity  accordingly  despoiled  antiquity,  i.e.  the 
proceeds  of  the  monotheistic  knowledge  and  ethics  of 

the  Greek  :  <'>^i  ~n<itl  -an:  za/w^  zl[iy^-:a'.  r^y.w.'  rCo-^  y[n(7riiv^v>:> 

i'JTt' (Justin).     I i  dates  itself  from  the  beginning  of   chnstian- 

^  o  r»  ityoldiis 

the  world.  Everything  true  and  good  that  mankind  ^^"^  ^^'iJci. 
extols  came  through  Divine  revelation,  but  is,  at  the 
same  time,  trul}'  human,  because  it  is  only  a  clearer 
expression  of  that  which  men  find  within  themselves. 
It  is  at  the  same  time  Christian,  since  Christianity 
is  nothing  but  the  teaching  of  revelation.  One  cannot 
think  of  another  form  in  which  the  claim  of  Chris- 
tianity tc  be  the  world-religion  comes  out  so  strongly 
(hence  the  effort  to  reconcile  the  world-empire  with 
the  new  religion) ,  nor  can  one  think  of  a  second  form 
in  which  the  specific  content  of  the  traditional  Chris- 
tianity is  so  thoroughly  neutralized.     But  its  truly     spiritual 

^  o      ^  ./        Culture 

epoch-making  character  laj"  in  this,  that  the  spiritual  wjHi'ReiiK- 
culture  of  the  race  appeared  now  to  be  reconciled  and 
allied  with  religion:  Revelation  is  wholly  an  out- 
ward, miraculous  communication  (passivity  of  the 
prophets)  of  rational  truth ;  but  rational  truth — theis- 
tic  cosmology  and  moral  it}' — vras  set  forth  simply 
dogmatically  and  as  the  common  possession  of  man- 
kind. 

3.  The  "  dogmas  "  of  Christianity — this  conception 


ion. 


If 

I'  4 

■I 

I 


I! 

h 


i 


124       OUTLINES   OP   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

ai^Rathl-  ^^^^  ^^^^  otlier,  ^'^£o^o^u^^  Were  first  introduced  into 
philosophical  language  hy  the  apologists — are  those 
rational  truths  which  are  revealed  by  the  prophets  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  which  are  all  summed  up 
in  Christ  {\fn(Tzdis  koyi,';  xa\  >o,'io^^)  and  have  as  their 
conseciuent  true  virtue  and  eternal  life  (God,  liberty 
and  virtue,  eternal  reward  and  eternal  punishment, 
i.e.  Christianity  as  a  monotheistic  cosmology,  as  a 
doctrine  of  liberty  and  morals,  as  a  doctrine  of  re- 
demption ;  the  latter  however  is  not  clearly  set  forth). 
The  instruction  is  referred  back  to  God,  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  virtuous  life  (of  righteousness)  God 
must  needs  have  left  to  men.  The  prophets  and- 
Christ  are  therefore  fountains  of  righteousness,  in 
so  far  as  they  are  Divine  teachers.  Christianity 
may  be  defined  as  the  God-transmitted  knowledge  of 
God,  and  as  virtuous  conformity  to  rational  law,  in 
the  longing  and  striving  after  eternal  life  and  in  the 
certainty  of  reward.  Through  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  and  through  the  doing  of  good,  men  become 
righteous  and  partake  of  the  highest  blessedness. 
Knowledge  rests  upon  faith  in  the  Divine  revela- 
tion. This  revelation  has  also  the  genius  and  the 
power  of  redemption,  in  so  far  as  the  fact  is  unques- 
tionable that  mankind  cannot  without  it  triumph 
over  the  dominion  of  the  demons.  All  this  is  con- 
ceived from  the  Greek  standpoint. 
fS?F^?fh        (^)  ^^^  dogmas  which  set  forth  the  knowledge  of 

^of  God.*'*^  God  and  of  the  world  are  dominated  by  the  funda- 
mental thought,   that  over  against  the  world  as  a 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOL'NDATION. 


1-^5 


created,  coiulitioiUHl  and  transient  existence  stands 
the  Self- Existent,  Unchangeable  and  Eternal,  who  is 
the  primal  Cause  of  the  world.  He  has  no  attri- 
butes, which  are  attributable  to  the  world ;  therefore 
he  is  exalted  above  every  name  and  has  in  himself 
no  distinctions  (the  Platonic  expressions  concerning 
God  were  held  as  incomparabl}-  good).  He  is  ac- 
cordingly one  and  (done,  splrifmil  and  faultless 
and  therefore  perfect;  in  purely  negative  predicates 
he  is  best  characterized ;  and  yet  he  is  On'yin  (Cause) 
and  the  Fulness  of  all  existences;  he  is  Will  and 
Life,  therefore  also  the  kind  Giver.  The  following 
theses  remain  fixed  with  the  apologists  as  regards 
the  relation  of  God  to  the  world:  (1)  that  God  is  to  s»i"niary, 
be  thought  of  primarily  as  the  final  Cause,  {'i)  that 
the  principle  of  the  ethically  good  is  the  Principle  of 
the  world,  (3)  that  the  Principle  of  the  world,  i.e. 
the  Godhead,  as  immortal  and  eternal,  forms  the 
contrast  to  the  world  as  the  perishable.  The  dogmas 
concerning  God  are  not  set  forth  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  redeer  'd  Church,  but  on  the  basis  of  a 
certain  conception  of  the  world  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  the  moral  nature  of  man  on  the  other ;  which 
latter  however  is  a  manifestation  within  the  cosmos. 
The  cosmos  is  everywhere  permeated  with  reason 
and  order  (opposition  to  gnosticism) ;  it  bears  the 
stamp  of  the  Logos  (as  a  reflection  of  a  higher  world 
and  as  a  product  of  a  rational  Will) .  The  material 
also  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  its  composition  is  not 
evil,  but  was  created  by  God.     Still  the  apologists 


CoKnios 
rt'niu-at'-d 
with  Ufa- 
son. 


f\l 


ni 


iil 


m 


'ill 


.1 


m 


(.',  I 


Ml 


iiN'ii 


120        OUTLINES    OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

(lid  not  maku  Ood  the  immetliato  creator  of  the 
world,  but  the  personified  Divine  Reason  perceptible 
in  the  world  and  inserted  between  God  and  the 
world.  This  was  done  with  no  reference  to  Christ 
and  with  no  thought  (in  the  gnostic  sense)  of  sepa- 
rating Clod  and  the  world;  the  conception  of  the 
Logos  was  already  at  hand  in  the  religions  philos- 
ophy of  the  day,  and  the  lofty  idea  of  God  recjuired 
a  being,  which  should  represent  the  actuality  and 
the  many-sided  activity  of  God,  without  doing  vio- 
lence to  his  unchangeableness  (a  finer  dualism:  The 

The  Logos.  Logos  is  the  hypostasis  of  the  active  energizing 
Reason,  which  makes  it  possible  to  think  of  the  God- 
head itself  as  resting  n-e/)f>n(Tt<r,-^  lio  is  both  the  re- 
vealing Word  of  God,  the  Divine  manifesting  him- 
self audibly  and  visibly  upon  the  earth,  and  the 
creating  Reason  which  expresses  himself  in  the  work 
of  his  own  hands;  he  is  the  Principle  of  the  icorld 
and  of  revelation  at  the  same  time.  All  this  is 
not  new ;  j^et  the  I-ogos  was  not  proclaimed  by  the 
apologists  as  a  i^n^V^rw^y,  but  as  the  surest  reality). 
Beyond  the  carrying  out  of  the  thought  that  the 
principle  of  the  cosmos  is  also  the  ]irincii)le  of  reve- 
lation the  majority  did  not  go;  their  dependence 
upon  the  faith  of  the  Church  is  evidenced,  how- 
ever, by  their  failure  to  clearly  distinguish  between 

History  of    the  Logos  and  the  Holy  Spirit.     The  history  of  the 

Lopos. 

Logos  is  as  follows :  God  was  never  akoyoi; ;  he  ever 
had  the  Logos  within  himself  as  his  reason  and  as 
the  potentiality  (idea,  energy)  of  the  world  (notwith- 


4^ 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


127 


standing  all  negative  assertions,  God  and  the  world 
were  somehow  bound  together).  For  the  sake  of  tlie 
creation  God  put  the  Logos  forth  from  iiiniself  (sent 
him  forth,  permitted  him  to  go  forth),  i.e.  through  a 
free  simple  act  of  his  will  generated  him  out  of  his 
own  Being.  lie  is  now  an  independent  hypostasis 
(>>:<)^^  in  i'h<)->)  whose  real  essence  {»'^)T{a)  is  identical 
with  that  of  God;  he  is  not  separated  from  God  but 
only  severed,  and  is  also  not  a  mere  mode  or  attribute 
of  God;  but  is  the  independent  result  of  the  self- 
unfolding  of  God,  and,  although  being  the  compen- 
dium of  the  Divine  Reason,  he  did  not  rob  the  Father 
of  his  reason;  he  is  God  and  Lord,  possesses  the  es- 
sence of  the  Divine  Nature,  although  he  is  a  second 
being  by  the  side  of  God  {ilp'Jhi.oi  ezs/)o>  tj,  //eo^  (hi'm- 
f»"t);  but  his  personality  had  a  beginning  {^^ fuit 
tcinpus,  cum  pafri  filius  non  fin' f  "  TcvtuW.).    Since    Begotten 

God, 

then  he  had  a  beginning,  and  the  Father  did  not,  he 
is,  as  compared  with  the  Father,  a  Creature,  the 
begotten,  created,  manifested  God.  The  subordina- 
tion lies,  not  in  his  essence  (for  monotheism  would 
then  have  been  destroyed),  but  in  the  manner  of  his 
origin  (^ipyo-^  r^fuozorir/Mv  ziin  rar//Ms').  This  made  it 
possible  for  him  to  go  forth  into  the  finite  as  rea- 
son, revelation,  and  activity,  while  the  Father  re- 
mains in  the  obscuritj'  of  his  unchangeablencss. 
With  the  going  forth  of  tlio  Logos  begins  the  reali- 
zation of  the  world-idea.  He  is  the  Creator  and  to  a 
degree  the  P7*ntotype  of  the  world  (the  one  and  spir- 
itual Being  among  the  many  sentiment  creatures). 


Creator 

and    J'loto- 

tyi.f. 


■t'\ 


ii : 


k     ! 


128 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OP"   DOGMA. 


I :  <u 


Doctrines 
of  Free- 
dom. 


Virtue. 


Righteous- 
ness. 


which  had  its  origin  from  nothing.  Man  is  the  true 
aim  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  the  true  aim  of 
man  is  to  attain  unto  the  Divine  essence  through 
the  reason  (image  of  God)  and  freedom  created  with- 
in him.  As  spirit-embodied  beings  men  are  neither 
mortal  nor  immortal,  but  capable  of  death  and  of 
eternal  life.  In  the  doctrines,  that  God  is  the  abso- 
lute Lord  of  the  material  world,  that  evil  is  not  in- 
herent in  matter  but  originated  in  time  and  through 
the  free  decision  of  the  spirit  (angel),  finally  that 
the  world  advances  toward  the  light,  dualism  ap- 
peared to  be  fundamentally  overcome  in  the  cos- 
mology. Yet  it  was  not  overcome  in  so  far  as  the 
sentient  was  actually  looked  upon  as  evil.  The 
apologists  held  this  teaching  in  regard  to  God,  the 
Logos,  the  world  and  mankind  as  the  essential  con- 
tent of  Christianity  (of  the  Old  Testament  and  of  the 
preaching  of  Christ) . 

(b)  The  doctrines  concerning  freedom,  virtue, 
righteousness  and  their  reward  were  so  held  that 
God  was  looked  upon  simply  as  Creator  and  Judge, 
and  not  as  the  principle  of  a  new  life  (reminiscences 
in  Justin).  The  d(ff}ap(Tia  is  at  the  same  time  reward 
and  gift,  linked  with  correct  knowledge  and  virtue. 
Virtue  is  withdrawal  from  the  world  (man  must  re- 
nounce his  natural  inclinations)  and  exaltation  in 
every  respect  above  the  senses,  and  love.  The  moral 
law  is  the  law  for  the  perfect,  exalted  spirit,  which, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  loftiest  being  uix)n  the  earth, 
is  too  lofty  for  the  same.     The  spirit  shoidd  hasten 


THE    LAYING    OF   THE    FOUNDATION. 


129 


e. 
e- 
in 
al 


Rewards. 


(iod  is  !{(>- 
dt'omor. 


from  the  earth  to  the  Father  of  Lights ;  in  equanim- 
ity, fulness,  purity  and  goodness,  which  are  the  nec- 
essary consequences  of  right  knowledge,  it  should 
make  it  manifest  that  it  has  already  overcome  the 
world.  The  vicious  die  the  eternal  death,  the  virtu- 
ous obtain  the  eternal  life  (strong  emphasis  upon  the 
idea  of  the  judgment;  recognition  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body  of  the  virtuous;  the  idea  of  right- 
eousness is  not  pushed  beyond  the  leijal  recjuire- 
ments) . 

(c)  God  is  Redeemer  in  so  far  as  he  (although  the 
cosmos  and  the  reason  are  sufficient  revelati(^ns)  has 
still  sent  forth  direct  miraculous  dispensations  of  the 
truth.  Inasmuch  as  the  fallen  angels  at  the  very 
beginning  gained  the  mastery  over  mankind  and 
entangled  men  in  sensuality  and  polytheism,  God 
sent  his  prophets  to  enlighten  man's  darkened  per- 
ception and  to  strengthen  his  freedom.  The  Logos 
worked  directly  within  them,  and  many  apologists 
in  their  writings  were  satisfied  w- itli  a  reference  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  to  the  evidence  from  proph- 
ecy. But  all  indeed  recognized  with  Justin  the 
complete  revelation  of  the  Lol?os  in  Jesus  Christ,  i-'^p'^ 'J*^ 
through  whom  prophecy  is  fulfilled  and  the  truth 
made  easily  accessible  to  all  (adoration  of  Christ  as 
the  revealed  Logos).  Justin  still  more  zealously 
defended  the  adoration  of  a  crucified  "  man  "  and 
added  many  things  from  the  traditions  concerning 
Christ  that   make  their  appearance   first  again   in 

Irenaeus. 
9 


Christ. 


}\ 


ii 
I    i    . 


N* 


n 


t 


130       OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTOKY   OK   DOCJMA. 

CHAPTER  V. 

BEGINNINGS  OF  AN  ECCLESIASTICO  -  THEOLOGICAL 
EXPOSITION  AND  REVISION  OP  THE  KULE  OF 
FAITH  IN  OPPOSITION  TO  GNOSTICISM  ON  THE 
PRESUPPOSITION  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  AND 
THE  CHRISTIAN  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  APOLO- 
GISTS: IREN'^EUS,  TERTULLIAN,  HIPPOLYTUS, 
CYPRIAN,    NOVATIAN. 

irenocus.  1.  Irenyeus,  a  piipil  of  Polycarp  and  a  teacher 
from  Asia  Minor,  who  resided  in  Lyons  and  was 
conversant  with  the  tradititjns  of  the  Roman  church, 
set  forth  in  his  great  anti-gnostic  work  tlie  apos- 
tolic norms  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  also  made 
an  attempt  to  develop  a  system  of  Church  doctrine. 

roinbinod    He  souglit  to  Combine  the  apohx/cfic  theolony  with 

Ai)ol<)p'tic  *^  -I  ./  ./,/ 

witli  Hail    ^  theological  revision  of  the  Ijaptisinal  confession; 

'fessioii.'"  he  took  from  the  two  Testaments  that  material 
which  served  not  alone  to  attest  his  philosophical 
teaching;  like  the  gnostics  he  placed  the  thought  of 
the  realized  redemption  in  the  centre  and  sought 
thereby  at  the  same  time  to  express  the  primitive 
Christian  eschatological  hopes.  In  this  way  arose 
a  "faith"  of  unlimited  extent,  which  was  to  be  tJie 
faith  of  the  Church,  of  the  learned  and  unlearned, 
composed  of  the  most  divers  elements — the  philo- 
sophi co-apologetic.  Biblical,  Christosophic,  gnostic- 
anti-gnostic  and  materialistic-fantastical  (the  pistis 
should  at  the  same  time  be  the  gnosis  and  vice  versa; 


THK    LAVINCi    OF   THE    FOUNDATION. 


131 


all  consriou.snoss  that  rational  theology  and  fides 
credcnihf  mv  irro('oncilabl(>  niagnitiules  was  want- 
ing; everything  stood  upon  an  even  plane;  sp(»'.'nla- 
tion  was  jnistriisted  and  3'et  was  not  discvirded). 
This  complicated  structure  received  its  outward  compH.at- 
unity  through  the  reference  of  all  declarations  to  the  '""'■ 
rule  of  faith  and  the  two  Testaments,  and  its  in- 
ward unity  through  the  strong  emphasis  of  two  fun- 
damental thoughts:  Thai  ihe  Cveatin'-Hod  is  also 
the  Redeenter-Ctod,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Redeemer  saleltj  on  this  accointt,  beeanse  he  is  the 
incarnate  God  {fdius  dei  fdins  honi i n is  f actus). 
In  the  carrying  out  of  the  latter  thought,  Irenjcus  is 
superior  to  his  pupils,  TertuUian  and  Hipi)olytus. 
For  the  former  especially  ^^'as  entirely  incompetent 
to  unite  the  apologetico-rational,  the  historico-re- 
demptive,  and  the  eschatological  ranges  of  thought, 
but  he  developed.,  conformably  to  his  juristic  temper 
and  equipments,  a  well-rounded  system  in  certain 
particulars,  which  was  very  influential  in  the  sub- 
sequent times  (terminology  of  the  trinitarian  and 
Christological  dogmas;  giving  Occidental  flogmatics 
a  juristic  trend). 
,  The  joining  of  the  old  idea  of  salvation  with  the    rhristia.i- 

"  ^  ity  lit'- 

thoughts  of  the  New  Testament  (salvation-history)    through" 
and  with  the  apologetic  rationalism  was  the  work  of       gixi"' 
Iremuus.     Christ ianitfj  is  to  Jiini  real  redemption., 
hroiif/ht  about  bf/  the  Creator-God.     This  redemp- 
tion is  to  him   reccqjitnlatio,   i.e.  restoration  to  a 
living  unity  of   that  which  has  been   unnaturally 


I 


m 


I   I 
I 


„:t 


!:      I 


!!  ' 


I     I 


ili 


liicariui- 

lintl  Kllll- 

(laiiictital 

Do/'iua. 


Gained 
Ready  Ac- 
ceptance. 


i;j?.       OUTLINES  OK   THE   HISTORY    OK  DOGMA. 

ai'pantfrd  through  death  and  sin;  e8iH3cially,  as  re- 
gards mankind,  the  restoration  of  human  nature  unto 
the  Divine  image  through  the  gift  of  imperishable- 
ness.  Tliis  .salvation  is  accomplished,  not  through  tlie 
Logos  in  itself,  hut  solely  through  Jesus  Christ,  and, 
indeed,  through  Jesus  Christ  in  so  far  as  he  was  Goil 
and  became  man.  In  that  he  took  upon  himself  hu- 
manity he  has  inseparably  united  and  blended  the 
same  with  Divinity.  The  incaniafioii  is  therefore 
alotuf  with  the  doctrine  of  the  unitij  of  God  the 
fiDidamental  doijma.  Thus  the  historical  Christ 
stands  (as  with  the  gnostics  and  Marcion)  at  the 
centre,  not  as  the  teacher  (although  Irenjeus'  rational 
scheme  in  many  respects  intersected  his  realistic 
theory  of  redemption) ,  but  by  virtue  of  his  constitu- 
tion as  the  Ood-man.  All  else  in  the  Holy  Scriptures 
is  preparatory  history  (not  simply  ciphers  in  the 
evidence  from  prophecy),  and  the  history  of  Christ 
(kerygma)  himself  is  the  unfolding  of  the  process 
of  the  incarnation  (not  simply  the  fulfilment  of 
prophecy).  Although  the  apologists  in  reality  did 
not  pose  the  question  "  cur  dens  homo  "  at  all,  yet 
IrenoBus  made  it  fundamental  and  answered  it  with 
the  intoxicating  statement :  "  That  we  might  become 
Gods".  This  answer  was  accordingly  highly  satis- 
factory, because,  (1)  it  indicated  a  specific  Christian 
benefit  from  salvation,  (2)  it  was  of  like  rank  with 
the  gnostic  conception ;  indeed  it  even  went  beyond 
the  latter  in  its  compass  of  territory  regarding  deifi- 
cation, (3)  it  met  the  eschatological  trend  of  Chris- 


TIIK    I,AVIN(J    OF   TIIK    ForNDATION. 


133 


tianity  luilf-way,  yet  at  the  sumo  tiino  it  coiiUl  tako 
the  j)lacoof  tlio  fantastic-uschatological  t^xpoctatioiiH, 
(1)  it  oxpresHotl  tho  mystic  Noo-Platonic  trend  of  tlie 
time  and  gavo  tho  nanio  tho  greatest  satisfaction,  (5) 
it  replaced  tho  waning  intellectiialisni  (rationalism) 
by  tho  certain  hope  of  a  supernaturid  transformati(»n 
of  our  nature,  winch  will  make  it  capahU'  of  appro- 
priating that  which  is  above  reason,  (•'))  it  gave  to  tho 
traditional  historical  utterances  concerning  Christ, 
and  the  entire  previous  history  as  well,  a  firm  founda- 
tion and  a  definite  aim,  and  mad  >  j)ossible  the  con- 
ception of  a  gradual  unfolding  of  the  history  of 
salvation  {inxn»,ix{a  i^vr>;  appropriation  of  Paulino 
ideas,  distinguishing  of  tho  two  Testaments,  vital 
interest  in  the  kerygma).  Tho  moral  and  eschato- 
logical  interest  was  now  balanced  by  a  real  religious 
and  Christological  interest:  Tho  restoration  of  hu- 
man nature  unto  the  Divine  imago  j^er  adopt ioneni. 
"  Through  his  birth  as  a  man  tho  eternal  Word  of 
God  secured  the  legacy  of  life  for  those  who,  through 
the  natural  birth,  had  inherited  dojith  ".  The  carry- 
ing out  of  this  thought  is  indeed  crossed  b}'  many 
things  foreign  to  it.  Jrena3us  and  his  pupils  warded 
off  tho  acute  hellenization  by  the  bringing  in  of  the 
two  Testaments,  by  the  idea  of  the  unity  of  creation 
and  redemption,  by  their  opposition  to  docetism; 
they  taught  the  Church  anew  that  Christianity  is 
faith  in  Jesns  Christ;  but  on  the  other  hand  they 
promoted  the  hellenization  by  their  superstitious 
conception  of  redemption,  and  by  turning  the  inter- 


Ironnpiis 
atid   I'lipils 

Wii  1(1.(1 
off   Jlcll.-n- 


i:l1 


%l 


l;)4        OUTUNES   OF   THE    TITSTORY    OF   DOGMA, 


Declared 

[lllillisill 

iJfstioyt'd 
Oinnij'o- 
teuee  of 

UlHi. 


Ai'oei)t 

(Jiiostic 

DeiiiiiirKf- 


est  towai'd  tlu>  luitures  rather  than  toward  the  living 
Pevson. 

'I.  The  early  Catholic  fathers,  in  opposition  to  the 
gnostic  theses,  declared  that  dualism  destroys  the 
omnipote  ICO  of  God,  therefore  in  general  the  idea  of 
God,  thai  the  emanations  are  a  mythological  fancy 
and  endanger  tho  unity  of  the  Godhead,  that  the  at- 
tempt to  ascertain  tho  inner  Divine  constitution  is 
audacious,  that  the  gnostics  could  not  avoid  placing 
the  final  origin  of  sin  in  the  pleroma,  that  criticism 
of  the  constitution  of  tho  cosmos  is  impertinent,  the 
same  is  muL'h  rather  an  evidence  of  wisdom  and  good- 
ness, that  docetism  gives  the  lie  to  the  Deity,  that 
the  freedom  of  man  is  an  undeniable  fact,  that  evil 
is  a  necessary  means  of  correction,  tii.it  goodness  and 
justice  do  not  exclude  eacli  otlun*,  etc.  E-  orywhere 
they  argue  accordingly  for  tho  gnostic  demi^n'go  as 
against  the  gnostic  Redeemer-God.  They  refer 
above  all  to  the  two  Testaments,  jind  have  therefore 
been  eulogistically  called  '"  Scripture  theologians  " ; 
but  the  "  religion  of  the  Scriptures ",  whereby  the 
latter  is  wilfully  interpreted  as  inspired  testimony 
(IrenfBus  looks  askance  at  the  gnostic  exegesis,  but 
comes  xery  near  making  use  of  it)  gives  no  guarantee 
of  contact  with  the  Gospel.  The  relation  between 
the  rule  of  faith  and  the  Scriptures  (now  super-, 
now  sub-ordination)  also  did  not  come  to  a  clear 
statement, 
^oofrout^^  111  the  doctrine  of  God  the  main  outlines  were 
All  Time     fimily  drawu  cor  all  time.     A  middle  way  between 


i'^ 


THE    LAYING   OF   THE    FOUND ATIOX. 


U5 


the  disavowal  of  kiiowlodgo  aiul  an  o'.  or-ciirious 
speculation  vas  much  prized.  In  IreT^ieus  are  found 
tendencies  tc  make  love^  i.e.  Jesus  Christ,  the  prin- 
ciple of  knowledge.  God  is  to  be  known  through 
revelation,  whereby  the  knowledge  of  the  world  is 
declared,  now  to  be  sufficient,  and  now  insufficient; 
Fov  Irenaeus,  the  apologist,  it  is  sufficient,  for  Ire- 
na^us,  the  Christologist,  it  is  not;  but  a  God  with- 
out a  creation  is  a  phantom ;  always  must  the  cos- 
mical  precede  the  religious.  The  Creator-God  is 
the  starting-point,  blasphemy  of  the  Creator  is  the 
highest  blasphemy.  Hence  also  the  apologetic  idea 
of  God  is  virtually  made  use  of  (God  the  negation 
and  the  Cause  of  the  cosmos) ;  but  Irenasus  is  still 
enthused  by  it,  since  a  real  interest  is  at  hand  as 
regards  the  historicia  revelation.  Especially  was  it 
pointed  out  against  Marcion,  that  goodness  re(iuires 
justice. 

In  the  L()(jos-iI()ctriite  Tertullian  and  Hippolytus  lo^os-doc- 

trine;  Ter- 

manifest  a  deeper  apologetic  interest  than  IremBus.   tuiiiau  aiui 

^  r        t->  Hippoly- 

They  adopt  the  whole  mass  of  apologetic  material  ^""^^ 
(Tertull.  Apolog.  21);  but  they  give  it  a  more  par- 
ticular reference  to  Jesus  Christ  (Tertull.  de  came 
Christ i  and  adr.  Pra.v.).  Accordingly  Tertullian 
fashioned  the  formulas  of  the  later  orthodoxy,  in 
that  he  introduced  the  conceptions  substance  and 
person,  and  notwithstanding  his  very  elaborate  sub- 
ordinationism  and  his  merely  economical  construction 
of  the  trinity,  he  still  hit  upon  ideas  concerning  the 
relatioi'S  of  the  thret.  Persons  v/hich  could  be  fully 


ii : 


i-i 


i  ^  ! 


!lt 


I' 


I   i 


'.  ;^  I.- 


Una Siib- 

stiintiii. 

Trcs  Per- 

SOUIL'. 


LoRos  Der- 

iviitio  ft 
Portio  D'.'i. 


1.30 


OUTLINES    OF   TUK    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


rec'ijgnized  upon  the  soil  of  the  Niceiie  Creed  {'^  una 
substantia,  tres  personw.  ") .  The  unity  of  the  God- 
head v,vas  set  forth  in  the  una  substantia;  the  dis- 
position of  the  one  suhstance  among  the  three  Per- 
sons {trinitas,  -fifi-^  first  by  Theophihis)  did  not 
destroy  the  unity  (the  gnostic  eons-speculation  is 
here  confined  to  three  in  number).  Already  it  was 
considered  a  heresy  to  maintain  that  God  is  a  numer- 
ical unity.  But  the  self-unfolding  (not  partitioning) 
of  the  Godhead  had  made  a  beginning  (the  realiza- 
tion of  the  world-idea  is  still  ever  the  main-spring  of 
the  inner  Divine  dispositio) ;  the  Logos  became  a 
distinct  being  {"  secundus  a  deo  constitutus,  perse- 
vcrans  in  sua  foi-nm");  since  he  is  derivatio,  so  is 
he por^?o  of  the  Deity  ("pafer  tota  substantial^). 
Therefore  notwithstanding  his  unity  of  substance 
{unius  substantice — v/woufTux^)  he  has  the  charac- 
teristic of  temporality  (the  Son  is  not  the  world-idea 
itself,  although  he  possesses  the  same) :  He,  the 
Stream,  when  the  revelation  has  accomplished  its 
aim,  will  finally  flow  back  into  its  Fountain.  This 
form  of  statement  is  in  itself  as  yet  not  at  all  distin- 
guishable from  the  Hellenic;  it  was  not  fitted  to 
preserve  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  for  it  is  too  low ;  it 
has  its  importance  merely  in  the  identification  of  the 
historical  Christ  with  this  Logos.  Through  this 
TertuUian  united  the  scientific  idealistic  cosmology 
with  the  declarations  of  the  primitive  Christian 
tx'adition  concerning  Jesus,  so  that  both  were  to 
him  like  the  wholly  dissimilar  wings  of  one  and  the 


THE    LAYING    OF   THE    FOUNDATION. 


137 


t^ 


same  building.  The  Holy  Spirit  Tertullian  treated 
merely  according  to  the  schema  of  the  Logos-doctrine, 
— an.  advance  upon  the  apologists, — yet  without  any 
trace  of  an  independent  interest  ("  tertiKS  est  spiri- 
tus  a  deo  et  filio  ",  "  vicaria  visfdii  ",  subordinate  to 
the  Son  as  the  latter  is  to  the  Father,  yet  still  "  iiiiius 
substantice  ") .  Hippolytus  emphasized  the  creature- 
character  of  the  Logos  still  stronger  (Philos.  X,  ;33 : 

koyou  TO  TzapadeiytLa) ^  but  did  not  attribute  an  indepen- 
dent prosqpon  to  the  Spirit  (adv.  Noet.  14:  i-^-t  ''^sf'V 

Tveufxarixs) . 

While  T'ortuUian  and  Hippolytus  simply  add  the 
Christ  of  the  kerygmas  to  the  complete  Logos-doc- 
trine already  at  hand,  Irenteus  took  his  point  of  de- 
parture from  the  God-Christ,  who  became  man.  The 
"  Logos  "  to  him  is  more  a  predicate  of  Christ  than 
the  subject  itself.  His  declarations  concerning 
Christ  were  won  from  the  standpoint  of  the  doctrine 
of  redemption;  the  apologetic  Logos-doctrine  even 
troubled  him;  but  he  could  not  rid  himself  of  it, 
since  redemption  is  recapitulaiio  of  the  creation, 
and  since  John  1 :  1  teaches  that  Christ  is  the  Logos. 
However,  he  rejected  from  principle  every  -nofitiXrj^ 
emanation  and  theological  speculation.  Christ  is 
the  eternal  Son  of  God  (no  temporal  coming-forth) ; 
he  is  the  eternal  self -re  vela  cion  of  the  Father;  there 
exists  between  him  and  God  no  separation.  Yet  so 
greatly  did  he  strive  to  reject  the  eon-speculation — 


Holy 
Spirit. 


Irenspus 
Dim-rs 
fro'n  'IVr- 
tiillian  and 
Hippoly- 
tus. 


138 

OUT  LINES    OK 

TifR  iiisToirr 

OF    DOCJMA. 

L<  i   \          /-»/   Vl  1   1   i   1            t-*  /^T-           /   < 

niT/\      LJ  r\r\      tXmx       I 

Iit^iii/^    tt\     1   Mitiit 

.+  ;« 

Ironnnus' 

Doi'trinc  of 

Mau. 


Fall  Ex- 

cusaliK' 

and  Adviin- 

taj^eous. 


the  redemption;  he  was  obhged  to  give  him  apart 
ill  the  creation,  and  then  he  taught  nothing  different 
from  Justin  and  TertuUian.  But  he  always  had  the 
inearnation  in  view,  whose  subjeot  must  be  the  full 
Divinity.  "God  placed  himself  in  the  relation  of 
Father  to  the  Son,  in  order  to  create,  after  the  like- 
ness of  his  Son,  men  who  should  be  his  sons".  Per- 
haps the  incarnation  was  to  Irenrous  the  highest 
expression  of  purpose  in  the  sonship  of  Christ.  In 
regar<l  to  the  H0I3'  Spirit  Ircnreus  spoke  with  the 
greatest  indefiniteness ;  not  once  is  -rfitd^  found  in  his 
writings. 

In  llio  teaching  of  Irenauis  concerning  flio  (Jcsfiuy 
of  ina)iJ:in(J,  Uteir  original  sfafe^  fall  and  sin,  the 
divergent  lines  of  vhought  become  very  appannit 
(apologetico-moralistic,  Biblico-realistic),  and  hnve 
characteristically  remained  so  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church.  Onl}^  the  first  is  clearh'  developed.  Every- 
thing created,  therefore  also  man,  is  in  the  begin- 
ning imperfect.  Perfection  could  only  be  the  destiny 
(native  capacity)  of  mankind.  This  end  is  realized 
through  the  free  decision  of  man  upon  the  basis  of 
his  God-given  capacity  (imagc^  of  God).  The  i)rim- 
itivo  man  stumbled  and  fell  into  death ;  but  his  fall 
is  excusable  (he  was  tempted,  ho  was  ignorant,  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  seduced  prrcicwfu  inimorfali- 
tiifis),  and  even  teleologically  necessary.  Disobedi- 
ence lias  been  advantageous  for  the  development  of 
man.     In  order  to  become  wise  he  must  see  that  dis- 


TlIK    LAVTNTi    OF   THE    FOUNDATION 


130 


tie 


s- 


obcdioiK'o  works  dcatli ;  ho  must  l(>arn  the  distance 
between  man  and  Crod,  an<l  tli«>  riij^lit  use  of  freedom. 
It  is  a  question  of  life  and  death;  the  consequence  of 
sin  is  that  wldch  is  really  dreadful.  But  the  good- 
ness of  God  showed  itself  at  once,  as  well  in  the  re- 
moval of  the  tree  of  life,  as  in  the  ordaining  of  tem- 
poral death.  Man  regains  his  destiny,  when  he  tle- 
cides  freely  for  the  good,  and  that  he  can  still  ever 
do.  The  significance  of  the  prophets  and  of  Christ 
reduces  itself  here,  as  by  the  apologists,  to  the  tvdch- 
ing  which  strengthens  freedom  (s(j  taught  Tertul- 
lian  and  Hippolytus).     The  second  course  of  thought     ircnfrus 

lllllut'IK't'll 

by  Irenjx3us  flowed  out   of  the  gnostic-anti-gnostic     '>>•  t^^i"'- 

recapitulation-theory  and  was   influenced  by  Paul. 

This   encompasses  entire    humanity   as  the    sinful 

Adam,  who  having  fallen  once  cannot  help  himself. 

All  offended  God  in  Adam;  through  Evt»  the  entire 

race  has  become  subject  to  death;  the  original  end 

is  forfeited  and  God  alone  can  help  by  descending 

again  into  conmiunion  with  us  and  restoring  us  to 

likeness  with  his  Being  (not  out  of  freedom  does 

blessedness  flow,  but  out  of  C(^mmimion  with  God, 

"  in  quantum  dens  nulUus  indiqef,  in  tanfuni  homo  ciuist  sec- 
ond Aduiu. 

indigef  dei  commuiiione^\  TV.  U,  1).  Christ,  as 
the  second  Adam,  redeems  the  first  Adam  ("  Christ  us 
liberfateni  restantxirif),  in  that  he  step  for  step 
restored  in  bonnm,  what  Adam  had  done  in  malum. 
(The  testimony  of  prophecy  is  liere  changed  into  a 
history  of  destruction  and  salvation).  This  relig- 
ions, preconceived  historical  view  is  carried  out  in 


11^  ! 


i  I 


ivlf' 


Idea  of 
Gcxl-Man 
Domi- 
nates. 


Perfect 
Union  Be- 
tween Lo- 

fjos  and 
Man  Jesus. 


140       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

an  almost  naturalistic  way.  Jrom  the  consetjuence 
of  tho  apokatastasis  of  every  individual  man  Ire- 
naeus  was  preserved  only  by  his  moral  train  of 
thought. 

The  idea  of  the  God-man  dominated  this  entire 
scheme.  Ecclesiastical  Christology,  so  far  as  it  em- 
phasizes tne  oneness  of  the  Divine  and  human  in 
Christ,  stands  to-day  still  bj'  Irenteus  (TertuUian  did 
not  so  clearly  see  the  necessity  of  the  oneness) .  Jesus 
Christ  vere  homo  vere  deus,  i.e.,  (1)  he  is  truly 
the  Word  of  God,  God  in  kind,  (2)  this  Word  be- 
came truly  man,  (3)  tho  incarnate  Word  is  an  insep- 
arable unit5^  This  is  carried  out  against  tho 
"ebionites"  and  Valentinians,  who  taught  the  de- 
scent of  one  of  the  many  eons.  The  Son  stands  in 
natural,  and  not  in  adopted  kinship  (the  virgin 
birth  is  recapitulatio:  Eve  and  Mary) ;  his  body  is 
substantially  identical  with  ours;  for  docetism 
menaced  the  redemption  just  as  did  "ebionitism  ". 
Therefore  must  Christ,  in  order  to  be  able  to  restore 
the  whole  man,  also  pass  through  a  full  human  life 
from  birth  to  mature  age  and  to  death.  Tho  unity 
between  the  Logos  and  his  human  nature  IrenaDus 
called,  '^  adunitio  verhi  dei  adj^lasma'^  and  "com- 
munio  et  cominixtio  dei  et  hominis".  It  is  to  him 
perfect;  since  he  did  not  care  to  distinguish  what 
the  man  did  from  what  the  Word  did.  On  the  con- 
trary TertuUian,  dependent  upon  Irenseus,  but  not 
viewing  the  realistic  doctrine  of  redemption  as  the 
key  to   Christianity,   used   it  is  true  the  formula, 


i  I    ! 


THE  LAYING  OK  THE  FOUNDATION. 


Ul 


"homo  deo  niLrtns'\  but  not  understamling  tho 
"homo  FACTUs"  ill  the  strict  sense.  He  speaks  (adv. 
Prax.)  of  two  substances  of  Cb:ist  {corporalis  ct 
spiritualis),  of  tho  "conditio  duariim  siibsfanti  t- 
rum'^  which  in  their  integrity  persist,  of  tho  "du- 
plex status  domin/i,  non  confusus,  sed  cujunctiis 
in  una  persona — deus  et  honio''\  Here  is  ah'eady 
the  Chalcedon  (juristic)  terminology.  Tertullian 
developed  it  in  endeavoring  to  ward  off  the  thought : 
God  transformed  himself  (so  some  patripassionists) ; 
but  he  did  not  see,  although  ho  used  the  old  formulas, 
"  deus  crucifixus  ',  *  nasci  se  cult  deus  ",  that  the 
realistic  redemption  becomes  more  strongly  menaced 
through  tho  sharp  separation  of  the  two  natures, 
than  through  the  acceptance  of  a  transformation. 
Indeed  he  only  asserts  the  oneness  and  rejects  tho 
idea  that  Christ  is  "teriiamquid".  But  even  Ire- 
nseus  could  not  persuade  himself,  against  his  own 
better  judgment,  to  divide  the  one  Jesus  Christ  after 
the  manner  of  the  gnostics:  (1)  There  are  not  a  few 
passages  in  the  New  Testament,  which  can  be  re- 
ferred only  to  the  humanity  of  Jesus  (not  to  tho  God- 
man),  if  the  real  Divinity  on  the  other  hand  is  not 
made  to  suffer  (so  e.g.  the  descent  oi  the  Spirit  at 
his  baptism,  his  trembling  and  shaking),  (2)  Ire- 
nseus  also  conceived  of  Christ  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  him  the  new  Adam  {" perfectus  homo^').,  who 
possesses  tho  Logos,  which  in  certain  acts  in  tho 
history  of  Jesus  was  inactive.  The  gnostic  distin- 
guishing of  the  Jesus  patibilis  and  the  Christus 


Two  Sub- 
stanct's 

Non  Con- 
fusus. 


Two-Na- 
tur»>  Doc- 
trine. 


1} 


M 


ji 


,  • 


;| 


;  'I 


f:-Xt 


•r 


In-iiaMis 
I'V.th.'f  (if 
Tiii'ulojry 
of  Facts. 


AVork  (if 

( 'In  ist 

Vii'ionsly 

IiUcr- 


112       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

«T«>7)j9  was  by  Tertulliaii  explicitly,  and  by  Irenfeus 
indirectly,  legitimized.  Tiius  arose  the  ecclesias- 
tical two-nature  doctrine.  Hi])polytus  stood  be- 
tween the  two  older  teachers. 

However,  the  oneness  was  still  the  penetratinjjj  con- 
cept'on  of  Irenieas.  Since  Christ  becam;*  what  we 
are,  he  as  God-man  likewise  passed  through  and 
suffered  what  we  slioi.ld  havo  suffered.  Christ  is 
^ot  oidy  "  sahis  ef  salcot<)r'\  but  also  his  wliole  li'e 
is  a  work  of  icden  jjiion.  From  his  conception  to 
his  burial  everything  was  inwardly  nrcessary.  Ire- 
nreus  is  the  father  of  the  "  theology  of  facts  "  in  the 
Church  (Paul  emphasized  only  tlie  death  and  the 
resurrection).  The  iniiuence  of  the  gnosis  is  unmis- 
taka!.le,  and  ue  even  uses  the  same  expressions  as  the 
gnostics  when  he  conceives  redemption  as  fully  ac- 
complished,— on  the  one  side,  in  the  mere  manifes- 
tation of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  second  Adam,  on  the 
other,  in  the  mere  knowledge  of  this  manifestation 

(IV.  3(3,  7:    r/  yMOfTii  nth  uin')  run  >'i^iri^  y'lri^  r]>   diff^apnifi) . 

Still  he  empiiasizes  the  personal  meritorious  service. 
He  looked  at  the  work  from  many  points  of  view 
(loading  back  into  communion,  restoration  of  free- 
dom, redemption  from  death  and  the  devil,  propitia- 
tion of  God);  the  dominathig  one  is  the  procuring 
of  the  aif<^aniiia  (adoption  unto  Divine  life).  But  how 
uncertain  all  is  to  him,  he  betrays  in  I.  10,  3,  when 
he  attributes  the  question.  Why  did  God  become 
HeshV  to  tlu^se  who  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  simple  faith.     He  can  alsn  still  ever  rest  satis- 


THE    LAYING   OF   THV!    FOUNDATION. 


143 


fiod  with  the  hope  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  hody.  Between  tliis 
hope  and  the  deification-idea  lies  the  Pauline  view 
(gnosis  of  the  deatli  on  the  cross) ;  Irentcus  exer- 
cised himself  to  prove  its  legitimateness  (the  death 
of  Christ  is  the  true  redemption).  Still  he  had  not 
reached  the  idea  ()f  the  atonement  (the  redemption 
money  is  not  paid  to  the  devil  ui)on  his  '•  with- 
drawal'"); within  the  recapitulation-theory  he  ex- 
presses the  idea,  that  through  disobedience  upon  \\h) 
tree  Adam  became  a  delator  toward  God,  and  through 
obedience  u])on  \\w  tree  God  became  reconciled. 
Retiections  on  a  substitutional  sacrifice  are  not  found 
in  Ironrous;  seldom  do  we  find  the  idea  of  sacrificial 
death.  Forgiveness  of  sins  he  did  not  really  recog- 
nize, but  only  the  setting  aside  of  sins  ar.d  their 
consequences.  The  redeemed  become  through  Christ 
bound  together  into  a  true  unity,  into  true  human  it}-, 
into  the  Church,  whose  head  Christ  is.  In  Tertullian 
and  Ilippolytus  the  same  points  of  view  are  found, 
except  that  the  mystic  (recapitulating)  form  of  the  re- 
deinption  recedes.  They  oscillate  con  cmiore  between 
the  rational  and  the  Pauline  representation  of  r(>- 
demption  ("  ir*o/?</>z  Chrifiiiani  noininis  et  pondns 
vt  fructus  mors  CJirisfi'\  adv.  ]\Iarc.  III.,  S);  but 
Hippolytus  (Philosoph.  fin.)  gave  a  classical  expres- 
sion to  the  deification  brought  about  by  Christ,  inter- 
weaving therewith  the  rational  schema  (knowledge 
redeems).  More  sharply  come  out  in  Tertullian 
the    conceptions,    culpa,    rcains  pcccati,    etc.;    he 


Did  Not 
Ucai-h 

Id.Mof 

Atinif- 
nii-nt, 


Uippolytus 
I'liijilia- 

sizes  Deifi- 
cation. 


i; 

ii 


m 


Ht 


.1 ' 


I 


|.;  I     , 


^  *■•»-.,. 


144        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


'  ■•  I.' . 


Christ 

nrkk'- 

i^rooin  of 

Indiviiliial 

Soul. 


Esc 'hat  ol- 


has  also  already  ^^ satisfacere  deo*\  "  vicritum^', 
''^ promereri  deum  ",  which  Cyprian  carried  out  more 
Tcrtuiiian  precisely.  Filially  we  find  in  Tertullian  the  por- 
trayal of  Christ  as  the  Bridegroom  and  the  individ- 
ual soul  as  tho  briile,  a  fatal  modification  of  the 
primitive  Christian  representation  of  the  Church  as 
the  body  of  Christ,  under  the  influence  of  the  Hel- 
lenic representation  (see  also  the  gnostics),  that  the 
Deity  is  the  husband  of  tho  soul. 

Very  striking  is  tho  impression  made  upon  one  by 
the  eschatoloyij  of  the  early  Catholic  fathers;  for 
it  corresponds  neither  with  their  rational  theology, 
nor  with  their  mysticism,  but  is  still  wholly  archaic. 
They  do  not,  however,  repeat  the  same  in  any  urgent 
way  (perhaps  on  account  of  the  churches,  or  the  re- 
gula,  or  the  Apocalypse  of  John),  but  they  and  the 
Latin  fathers  of  the  3d,  and  of  the  beginning  of  the 
4th,  century  live  and  move  altogether  in  the  hope 
of  the  earliest  Christian  churches  (like  Papias  and 
Justin).  The  Pauline  eschatology  they  felt  as  a  dif- 
ficulty, the  primitive  Christian,  together  with  its 
grossest  chiliasm,  not  at  all.  This  is  the  clearest 
proof  that  these  theologians  were  only  half  -  hearted 
about  their  rational  and  mystic  theology,  which  they 
had  been  compelled  to  adopt  in  their  contest  with 
the  gnosis.  They  had  in  fact  two  Christs:  The 
returning  Christ,  who  should  conquer  the  antichrist 
and  set  up  his  judgment  seat  as  the  victorious 
King,  and  the  Logos,  who  was  looked  upon,  now  as 
a  Divine  teacher,  now  as  God-man.     This  very  com- 


I'apias, 
Justin. 


■  I 


TIIK    LAYINtS   OF   TIIK    FOUNDATION. 


U5 


plication  recommeuded  the  now   ChiuH'h   doctrine. 
The  details  of  the  eschatological  hopes  in  Ironwus  Tfrtllnhm. 
(I.V.,  see  also  Melito),  Tertullian   and   Hippolytus       tuH. 
(de  antichr.)  are  in  the  main  as  stereoty|)od,  in  par- 
ticulars as  wavering,  as  in  the  earlier  times.     The 
Johaunean  Apocalypse,  together  with  its  learned  ex- 
positions, stands  with  Daniel  in  the  foreground  (six> 
or   rather   seven    thousand    years,  heathen    earthly- 
power,  antichrist,  site  in  Jerusalem,  cami)aign  of  tho 
returning  Christ,  victory,  resurrection  of  Christians, 
visible  kingdom  of  joy,  general  resurrection,  judg- 
ment, final  end).     But  after  the  Montanistic  crisis 
there  arose  in  the  Orient  an  o])i)()sition  movement  ^M'P'^s'tif.n 
against  this  drama  of  the  future  (the  "  alogoi ") ;  the 
learned  bishoi)s  of  the  Orient  in  the  IJd  century,  above 
all  the  Origenists,  opposed  it,  yes,  even  the  Johannean 
Apocalypse  (Dionysius  Alex.) ;  they  found  howevei* 
tenacious  oppposers  among  the  ^'  siniplices  et  idio- 
tic "  (Nepos  in  Egypt) .     The  Christian  people  of  the 
Orient  also  unwillingly  suffered  themselves  to  be 
robbed  of  their  old  faith,  they  were  obliged  however 
to  submit  gradually  (the  Apocalypse  disappears  often 
in   the   Oriental  church  canon).     In  the  Occident 
chiliasm  remained  unbroken. 

There  remains  still  fJie  docfrine  concernina  the    i^ysj,'"'ne 

*^  Oil  WO 

two  Testaments.  The  creation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment threw  a  new  light  upon  the  Old  Testament. 
This  passed  now  no  longer  simply  as  a  Christian 
book  (Barnabas,  Justin),  and  also  not  as  a  book  of 

the  Jewish  God  (Marcion),  but  by  the  side  of  tho  old 
10 


.< 


Testa- 
ments. 


!; 

■I 


I 


':.:iv 


1 1 


'■  \ 


» 

■  .  -:.?..■ 

m  i 

T  fi'!'. 

1 

|l 

m 

1 

'    *"^ll 

H 

!     '           ■   i 

u 

.  :}  <-  '    ' 

Ik 

m 

\4Ci        OUTLINES   OF   TlIK   IIISTOKY    OK   DOOMA. 

conception  thfit  it  in  (MiriHtian  in  every  lino  and 
Htands  upon  the  summit  of  tlie  Christian  rovehition, 
was  peacefully  established  the  other  which  is  in- 
consistent with  it,  that  it  was  a  }>v<>}><iv(i1()r(i  shtf/c 
to  (Jhrist  and  tiie  New  Testament.  This  view,  in 
wiiieh  an  historical  conception  faintly  ai)pears,  was 
first  sot  forth  by  the  Valentinians  {o}).  Pfolcniaei 
ad  Florani).  Men  varied  according  to  necessity: 
im'nt  Con-  Now  tho  Old  Testament  is  held  to  contain  the  wholo 

tiiincd  All.  ,      ,  , 

truth  in  the  form  of  proj)hccy,  now  it  is  a  Icgisdafio 
in  servitiiton  by  tho  side  of  the  new  Icfji.schdio  in. 
liberfatcm,  an  old  transient  covenant,  which  pre- 
pared tho  way  for  tho  new,  and  whose  content  is  tho 
history  of  God's  pedagogy  of  tho  human  race, — in 
every  portion  of  saving  value  and  j^et  transient,  and 
at  tho  same  time  the  forecast  of  the  future  and  typi- 
cal. As  over  against  the  gnostic  attacks  tho  fathers 
tried  to  set  forth  tho  incomparableness  of  tho  cere- 
monial laws,  and  Paul  is  distorted  for  tho  pur[)OSO 
in  order  to  prove  by  him  also  devotion  to  tho  law. 
Prophecy,  typo,  pedagogy  were  the  decisive  points  of 
view,  and  only  when  men  were  restricted  by  no  op- 
position did  they  admit  that  certain  Old  Testament 
requirements  had  been  abrogated.  In  all  this  there 
lay,  notwithstanding  the  confusion  and  the  contra- 
diction which  persists  even  until  tho  present  time,  a 
An  Ad-     real  step  forward.     Men  began  to  make  distinctions 

vauce. 

in  the  Old  Testament,  they  hit  upon  the  idea  of  ad- 
vancing stages  of  truth,  of  historical  conditions  (Ter- 
tuUian,  de  oraf.  1:  '^  (jiiii<l(/ii id  retro  fiici-at,  out  de- 


THE   LAYINCi   UF   THE   FOUNDATION. 


117 


a 

s 


unddfnin  est  [wr  ('Itris/nin  iit  vircinncisitt^  lud 
fiftpplctinn  iif  r('h<in(i  /c.r,  itnf  inipL  fnni  nl  pm- 
plivtin^  (tnl  perfect  tan  nt  Jide.s  /y>.s7(  ").  liiasnuicli 
as  tvvu  Te.Htaincnts  wltc  now  accoptrd,  tlu'  spccilic 
sij^nificanw  of  tlio  Cliristian  rovoiiant  hccMnic  inoni 
proiniiiont  (Tcrtull.  *' /r.r  et  pvojtln'tde  v.s<pie  ad 
JoliaiiHCin  "  ;  tlio  apostles  f^roatcu*  than  tlio  prophets) ; 
true,  tho  now  Covenant  .vas  still  ever  treated  as 
"/ex*",  and  tho  ho})eless  (piestion  was  aeeordingly 
discussed,  whether  Christ  has  lighttMied  or  weighted 
the  old    law?     The   pinlai^oij^ical    salvation-histon\    i'"'i'iprnj:i- 

'  "    "  •'  '      i-al  Salva- 

as  it  was  first  put  forth  by  Trentcus  and  intertwined  "'['.'r"'**' 
with  the  testimony  of  prophecy,  ina(l(^  a  tremendous 
inii)ression  {iih  initio — Moaes-Cltrist) ;  tho  Tertul- 
lian  addition  (Itli  stajjje:  purdcletn.s  as  iunnis  le<jis- 
lator)  did  not  gain  acceptance,  yet  it  has  ever  re- 
appeared in  the  history  of  the  Church,  since  even 
Christ  and  Paul  cannot  be  included  in  the  scheme 
of  new  law-givers  for  th(^  Church  life. 

3.  The  value  of  the  work  of  the  old  Catholic  \y',"|!;;J 
fathers  to  the  Church— in  the  Occident  Novatian  '"','.!  kI;:'" 
worked  out  tlu?  Tertullian  Christology,  Cyprian  es- 
tablished the  ref/uld  as  d(  veloped  into  a  salvation- 
history  and  made  a  part  of  the  Tertullian  formulas 
current  in  larger  circles — did  not  consist  in  their 
construction  of  a  system  of  dogmatics,  but  in  their 
refutation  of  too  gnosis  and  in  the  theological  frag- 
ments whi( 


they 


-gnostically 


interpreted  "  rule  of  faith  ",  which  was  coupled  with 
the  chief  statements  of  the  aj^ologetic  theology  (vide 


tl 


5: 


iu 


iil! 


m 


14.S       OUTLINES  OF   THE   HISTCl.Y   OF  DOGMA. 


!  I  ■    )■    :  l") 


;:  1 


f    : 


H 

1' 

n 

IflR'' 

11 
^  1 

fH 

'i' 

fi^' 

i 

1: 

above  all  Cyprian's  writing,  "testimonia" ;  here 
the  doctrine  concerning  the  two  Testaments,  as  Ire- 
nsBus  had  developed  it,  forms  the  ground-plan  in 
which  the  particular  articles  are  introduced.  Doc- 
trinal passages  from  the  rational  theology  change 
with  the  kerygmatic  facts ;  everything,  however,  is 
proven  from  the  two  Testaments;  faith  and  theol- 
ogy are  not  at  a  tension).  In  order  to  become  a  Cath- 
olic Christian  one  was  obliged  above  all  to  believe  the 
following  articles,  which  stand  in  sharp  contrast  to 
'^FakhV^  the  opposing  doctrine:  (1)  the  unity  of  God,  (2)  the 
christiaifs.  identity  of  the  highest  God  and  the  Creator  of  the 
work' ,  I.  e.  the  identity  of  the  Mediator  of  creation  and 
of  redemption,  (3)  the  identity  of  the  highest  God  and 
the  God  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  acceptance  of 
the  Old  Testament  as  God's  old  book  of  revelation, 
(4)  the  creation  of  the  world  out  of  nothing,  (5)  the 
unity  of  the  human  race,  (())  the  origin  of  evil  from 
man's  freedom  and  the  inalienable  character  of  that 
freedom,  (7)  the  two  Testaments,  (8)  Christ  as  God 
and  man,  the  unity  of  his  personality,  the  essential 
character  of  his  Divinity,  the  reality  of  his  human- 
ity, the  verity  of  his  fate,  (9)  the  redemption  and 
covenant  through  Christ  as  the  now,  final  manifesta- 
tion of  God's  grace  to  all  men,  (10)  the  resurrection 
of  the  entire  man.  In  closest  connection  with  these 
doctrines  stands  the  Logos-doctrine,  j^es  the  latter 
formed  measurably  the  foimdation  of  their  contents 
and  just  claims.  How  it  was  carried  out  will  bo 
indicated  in  Chapter  VII.     On  the  carrying  out  of 


■^}fm<'<dm-Siiiiiiisiilikiil^-; 


THE   LAYING   O.^   THE   FOUNDATION. 


149 


this,  however,  hung  also  the  decision  of  the  weight- 
iest questions,  whether  the  Cliristian  faith  as  in 
former  times  should  rest  upon  the  hope  of  the  return 
of  Christ  and  upon  his  glorious  kingdom,  or  in  the 
faith  in  the  God-man,  who  has  brought  full  knowl- 
edge and  transformed  the  nature  of  man  into  the 
Divine  nature. 


f 


ts 


)0 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  TRADI- 
TION INTO  A  PHILOSOPHY  OF  RELIGION,  OR  THE 
ORIGIN  OF  SCIENTIFIC  ECCLESIASTICAL  THEOL- 
OGY  AND   DOGMATICS :    CLEMENT   AND   ORXGEN. 

Guericke,  de  Hchola  qua)  Alex,  floruit  catechetica,  1824. 
Bigg,  The  Chrit.tian  Platonists  of  Alex.,  188G.  Wiuter, 
Ethik  dcs  Cioinfus,  1882.  Redepenning,  Origenes,  1841,  f. 
Denis,  Philosophie  d'Origone,  1884, 

1.  The  gnostics  sharply  distinguished  pistis  and  ^J^l^"',','."*' 
gnosis ;  Irenaeus  and  Tertullian  made  use  of  science 
and  speculation  only  from  necessity  and  in  order  to 
refute  them,  reckoning  that  to  faith  itself  which  they 
needed  for  theological  exposition.  In  the  main  they 
were  satisfied  with  the  authorit}-,  hope  and  holy  ordi- 
nances of  life;  they  were  building  upon  a  building, 
which  they  themselves  did  not  care  for.  But  after 
the  end  of  the  2d  century  there  began  to  be  in  the 
Church  a  movement  toward  a  scientific  religion  and 
toward  a  theological  science  (schools  in  Asia  Minor,  sciiuoi's! 
Cappadocia,  Edessa,  Aelia,  Caesarea,  Rome;  alogoi,       dria. 


'!  1 


150       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

Alexander  of  C{ii)pa(l()('ia,  Julius  Africaiius,  Tlieuk- 
tist,  Tiieodocian  schools).  It  was  the  strongest  in 
the  City  of  Science,  Alexandria,  where  Christianity 
became  the  heir  of  Pliilo  and  where  evidently,  until 
toward  the  year  200,  there  had  not  been  a  firm  organ- 
ization of  Christians  upon  exclusive  principles.  The 
Alexandrian  church  comes  into  the  light  of  history 
together  with  the  Alexandrian  Christian  school  (c. 
100) ;  in  the  latter  the  entire  Hellenic  science  was 
taught  and  adapted  to  the  service  of  the  Gospel  and 
ciomenta  the  Church.  Clement,  the  pupil  of  Pantajnus,  pro- 
Pauta>nus.  (Juiced  in  his  Stromata  tlie  first  Christian  ecclesiasti- 
cal work,  in  which  the  Greek  philosophy  of  religion 
served  not  only  an  apologetic  and  polemic  purpose, 
hut  was  the  means  of  first  restricting  Christi- 
anity to  thinking  men  (as  by  Philo  and  Valen- 
tinus).  Ecclesiastical  literature  was  in  itself  un- 
familiar to  Clement ;  he  acknowledged  its  authority, 
because  the  Holy  Scriptures  appeared  to  him  as  a 
revelation;  but  it  was  his  conscious  purpose  to 
work  their  content  out  philosophicall}'  and  to  make 
them  his  own.  The  pistis  is  given;  it  is  to  be 
recoined  into  gnosis,  i.e.  a  doctrine  is  to  be  de- 
veloped which  will  satisfy  scientific  demands  by  a 
philosophical  \iew  of  the  world  and  of  ethics. 
Gnosis  does  not  conflict  with  faith,  but  on  the  con- 
trary it  supports  and  enlightens  it,  not  only  in  cer- 
tain points,  but  it  lifts  it  up  into  a  higher  sphere  out 
of  the  domain  of  authority,  into  the  sphere  of  pure 
knowledge    and    inner    spiritual    harmony   flowing 


Pistis  is 
Oiveu. 


t  ■•' 


I  \{  I 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


151 


a 
to 

be 

e- 
a 

ics. 


from  the  love  of  God.  Pistis  und  gnosis,  however,  ^'i^lulis-s'' 
are  bound  together  in  this,  that  both  have  their  con-  g"tiier.*^ 
tent  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  (yet  in  practice  Clement  is 
not  an  exact  Scripture- theologian  like  Origen).  Into 
these  Scriptures  tiie  highest  aim  and  the  entire  ai)pa- 
ratus  of  the  idealistic  Greek  philosophy  is  read ;  they 
are  at  the  same  time  referred  to  Christ  and  ecclesi- 
astical Christianit}' — so  far  as  there  was  such  in  Alex- 
andria at  that  time.  The  apologetic  purpose,  which 
Justin  had  had,  is  hero  transformed  into  a  systemati- 
co-theologic.  The  positive  material  is  accordingly 
not  shoved  into  the  proof  of  prophecy,  but,  as  by 
Philo  and  Valentinus,  is  carried  over  with  infinite 
pains  to  scientific  dogmatics. 

To  the  idea  of  the  Logos  who  is  Christ,  Clement, 
in  that  he  exalted  it  to  the  highest  principle  of  the 
religious  view  of  the  world  and  of  the  exposition  of 
Christianity,  gave  a  far  richer  content  than  did  Jus- 
tin. Christianity  is  the  doctrine  of  the  creation, 
education  p.nd  perfecting  of  the  human  race  through 
the  Logos,  whose  ^v'ork  reaches  its  climax  in  the  per- 
fect gnostic,  and  who  has  made  use  of  two  means, 
the  Old  Testament  and  Hellenic  philosophy.  Logos 
is  everywhere,  wherever  men  rise  above  the  plane 
of  nature  (the  Logos  is  the  moral  and  rational  prin- 
ciple in  all  stages  of  the  development) ;  but  the 
authentic  knowledge  of  him  can  be  w^on  only  from 
revelation.  He  is  the  law  of  the  \7orld,  the  teacher,  "viefel^"^ 
or  in  Christ  the  hierourge,  who  tlirough  holy  ordina-  ^^'^''"°"'"8®- 
tions  conducts  to  knowledge ;  linally,  for  the  perfect, 


Idea  of 
Logos. 


I ; 


n' 


Clement 
Attacked 
Problem. 


Ie52       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

the  bridge  to  union  with  Ood  himself.  Aside  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures  the  Greek  combination  of  knowl- 
edge and  ceremonial  ordination  made  it  possible  for 
Clement  to  let  ecclesiastical  Christianity  pass  cur- 
rent. The  ecclesiastical  gnostic  rises,  so  to  speak, 
by  means  of  an  attached  balloon  to  the  Divine  realms; 
he  leaves  behind  him  everything  earthl}^  historical, 
statutory  and  authoritative,  yes,  finally,  the  Logos 
himself,  while  he  struggles  upward  in  love  and 
knowledge;  but  the  rope  remains  fast  beneath,  while 
the  pure  gnostic  on  the  contrary  severed  it.  This 
exaltation  is  accomplished  in  gradual  stages  (Philo), 
under  which  scheme  the  whole  philosophical  ethics 
is  set  forth,  from  reasonable  moderation  to  the  excess 
of  consciousness  and  of  apathetic  love.  Ecclesiasti- 
cal tradition  is  also  set  forth;  but  here  as  yonder  the 
true  gnostic  should  upon  the  higher  stage  overcome 
the  lower.  When  the  spirit's  wings  are  grown  he 
needs  no  crutches.  Although  Clement  succeeded 
very  poorly  in  arranging  the  unwieldy  material 
under  his  proposed  scheme — he  stuck  fast  in  the  midst 
of  his  undertaking — yet  his  purpose  is  perfectly  plain. 
While  Irensens  wholly  naively  blended  discordant 
material  and  therefore  won  no  religious  freedom, 
Clement  advanced  to  freedom.  He  was  the  first  to 
give  attention  to  the  problem  of  future  theology: 
In  connection  with  the  historical  deposits,  through 
which  we  are  what  we  are,  and  in  connection  with 
the  Christian  communion,  upon  which  we  are 
thrown  because  it  is  the  only  universal  moral- relig- 


.  i    ;. 


THE   LAYING   OF  THE   FOUNDATION. 


153 


ious  communion,  to  win  for  ourselves  freedom  and 
independence  witli  the  Gospel  and  to  .so  set  forth 
this  Gospel  that  it  shall  appear  the  highest  message  of 
the  Logos,  who  makes  himself  known  in  all  rising 
above  nature,  and  therefore  in  the  whole  history  of 
mankind.  Truly  the  danger  was  for  Clement  at 
hand,  that  the  ideal  of  the  self-sufficient  Hellenic 
seer  should  stifle  the  voice  that  declares  that  we  live 
in  Christ  by  the  grace  of  God;  but  the  danger  of 
secularization  was  in  the  trammelled  exposition  of 
Irenseus,  which  placed  value  upon  authorities  that 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Gospel,  and  alleged  facts 
pertaining  to  salvation  that  oppress  us,  in  another 
way,  indeed,  but  none  the  less.  If  the  Gospel  is  to 
give  freedom  and  peace  in  God  and  pre])are  us  for  an 
eternal  life  in  union  with  Christ,  then  Clement  un- 
derstood it  in  that  sense.  His  was  virtually  an  at-  Attempted 
tempt  to  fuse  the  aim  of  the  Gospel  to  make  us  rich  Gosp.  raud 

Plat  on  ic 

in  God  and  to  gain  from  him  power  and  life,  with 
the  ideal  of  the  Platonic  philosophy  to  raise  oneself 
as  a  free  spirit  above  the  world  unto  God,  and  then  to 
bind  together  the  instructions  pertaining  to  a  blessed 
life  which  are  found  in  the  one  and  in  the  other.  But 
Origen  was  the  first  to  succeed  in  putting  this  into  a 
systematic  form,  in  which  the  most  scrupulous  Bibli- 
cism  and  the  most  conscientious  regard  for  the  rule 
of  faith  are  conjoined  with  the  philosophy  of  religion. 
2.  Origen  was  the  most  influential  theologian  in 
the  Oriental  church,  the  father  of  theological  science, 
the  author  of  ecclesiastical  dogmatics.     What  the 


I'hilos- 
upliy. 


Origen, 


i  . 


M 


1 


'  "  v 


ti 


"!( 


|( 


?f 


II 


154        OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

apolojjfists,  g'liostios  and  old  Catliolic  tli(M)logiaiis 
had  taiiylit,  ho  brought  together  and  comljinod;  he 
recognized  the  prc^hleni  and  the  proljlems,  the  histori- 
cal and  the  speculative.  He  sharply  distinguished, 
with  the  clearest  virion,  between  ecclesiastical  faith 
and  ecclesiastical  theology,  and  spoke  one  thing  t(^ 
the  people  and  another  to  the  discerning.     His  nni- 

o'niwTve"  versal  spirit  did  not  wish  to  destroy  anything,  but 
everywhere  to  conserve;  he  found  on  every  hand  that 
wliich  is  valuable  and  he  knew  how  to  give  to  ever}' 
truth  its  place,  be  this  in  the  pistis,  or  in  the  gnosis ; 
no  one  should  be  "offended",  but  Christian  truth 
should  triumph  over  the  systems  of  the  Hellenic  phi- 
losophers and  tlic  old  Catholic  gnostics,  over  the 
superstition  of  the  heathen  and  Jews  and  over'  the 
defective  presentation  of  Christian  unitarians.  This 
Christian  truth  bore  as  gnosis  Neo-Platonic  marks, 
and  indeed  to  such  a  high  degree  that  a  Porphyry 
commended  the  theolog}'  of  Origen,  and  rejected  only 
tl)e  intermingled  "strange  fables".  Origen  presup- 
poses the  rule  of  faith  in  a  firmly  outlined  form  (see 
his  principal  work,  -zin  '^'iiy/o^-)^  together  with  the 
two  Testaments:  He  who  has  these  has  the  truth 
which  makes  blessed,  yet  there  is  a  deeper,  more 
gratifying  conception.  Upon  its  summit  all  con- 
trasts become  mere  shades,  and  in  the  absolute  har- 

orthodox-   moiiy  wliicli  such  a  view  gives,  one  learns  to  estimate 

Tniilitioii-  _  o  7 

aiist  Bib-   the  relative.     Thus  is  Origen  an  orthodox  tradition- 

lu'ul  Tlieo- 

i.ta'/isHc    alist,  a  strong  Biblical  theologian   (nothing  should 
phec.       pass  current  which  is  not  in  the  Scriptures),  a  keen 


Prosni)- 

poses   Rule 

of  Faitli. 


I 


THE    I.AVIN(;    OF   Till-:    I' ( )r  ND  ATION. 


1  :>:» 


I 


t'liristiari- 

itv  for 

Hot  1 1 

C'lusst'S. 


idijilistlc  plillosoplicr  wlio  Iraiislati'd  tlu»  content  of 
I'aitli  into  ideas,  {•()iiH)K't('d  tlio  structure  of  the  world 
lluit  is  within,  and  finally  let  nothing  jiass  save 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  self  in  closest  union,  which 
exalts  us  above  the  world  and  conducts  unto  deilica- 
tion.  Zeiio  and  Plato,  howe\er,  should  not  bo  tho 
leaders,  bu.t  Christ;  for  the  former  did  not  overcome 
polytheism,  xior  make  the  truth  generally  accessibUs 
nor  give  a  system  of  instruction  which  made  it  pos- 
sible for  the  unlearned  to  bec«jme  any  better  than 
tiieir  natural  ability  permits.  That  Christianity  is 
for  i)oth  classes, — religion  for  tli(>  common  man  with- 
out polytheism  (of  course  with  jjictures  and  signs) 
and  religion  for  the  thinking  mind, — Ori gen  recog- 
nized as  its  superiority  over  all  other  religions  and 
systems.  The  Chrisfian  rcJii/ioii  is  the  onhi  reli(/-  Vi'V''^''"^ 
ion  irhicJi  is  also  truih  in  iiiyfJiical  fonn.  Tlieol-  Mj^hiVai 
ogy  it  is  true  is  obliged — as  always,  so  also  here — to 
emancipate  itself  from  the  positive  traits  (character- 
istic of  the  positive  religion)  Ix'longing  to  external 
revelation  and  statutes;  but  in  Christianity  this  is 
accomplished  under  the  guidance  of  Holy  Scrii)ture 
which  establishes  the  positive  rc^ligion  for  the  masses. 
The  gnosis  neutralizes  everything  empiricallv  histor-      onosis 

Ncutial- 

ical,  if  not  indeed  alwavs  in  matters  of  fact,  yet  iz.s  Kn.- 
wholly  so  as  regards  its  worth.  It  sublimates  first 
from  tho  empirical  history  a  higher  transcendental 
history,  which  begins  in  eternity  and  rests  behind 
the  empirical;  but  in  reality  it  sublimates  this  trans- 
cendental once  again,  and  ther*,'  remains  now  only 


^>'  :■ 


% 


,1):  i- 


Christol- 


System 
Monistic, 

yet  has 
Dualistic 
Element. 


]5(;       OUTLINES  OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 

tho  unchangeable  (jrod  and  the  created  houI.  This  is 
most  clearly  brought  out  in  Origen's  Christology. 
Back  of  the  historical  Christ  reposes  the  eternal 
Logos;  he  who  appeared  first  as  physician  and  re- 
deemer, appears  on  a  dee?  r  vi' '  u<  the  teacher — 
blessed  are  *cho  adva.'-^.  i  od<'-'.  v^-h^  need  no  more  the 
physician,  the  shepherd  i..id  ■;  itt'eemer! — but  the 
te*.icher  is  finally  no  longer  necessary  io  those  who  are 
become  perfect ;  such  rest  in  God.  Thus  is  ecclesi- 
astical Christianity  here  stripped  off  as  a  husk  and 
thrown  aside  like  a  crutch.  That  which  in  Justin  is 
proof  of  prophecy,  in  Irenteus  salvation-history,  van- 
ishes in  Origen  for  the  gnostic,  or  is  only  a  picture 
of  a  spiritual  history.  In  the  final  analysis  there 
fails  in  his  high-flying,  all-comprehensive  ethics  the 
sense  of  guilt  and  fear  of  the  Judge. 

The  system  w^as  intended  to  be  strongly  monistic 
(that  which  was  oreated  out  of  nothing  has  only  a 
transitory  significance  as  a  place  of  purification) ;  yet 
in  fact  there  dwelt  within  it  a  dualistic  element. 
The  dominating  antithesis  is  God  and  created  things. 
The  amphiboly  lay  in  his  double  view  of  the  spiritual 
(it  belongs  on  the  one  side,  as  the  outgoing  of  God's 
nature,  to  God  himself,  on  the  other  side,  as  that 
which  has  been  created,  it  stands  in  opposition  to 
God) ,  which  keeps  cropping  out  in  all  Neo-Platonic 
systems.  Pantheism  was  to  be  warded  off,  and  yet  the 
supermundane  character  of  the  human  spirit  was  to 
be  stoutly  maintained.  This  spirit  is  the  free^  heav- 
enly eon,  conscious  of  the  right  way,  but  uncertain 


'li  I 


^'  :• 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


157 


ThrtH' 
Farts. 


L  its  Btriviiig.  Divine  origin,  divine  end,  and  free 
cL'jice  constitute  its  essence.  T \e  knot  is  tied  how- 
e\  er,  v  that  moment  when  the  spirit  comes  forth  in 
manifestation,  "^hero  is  therefore  a  history  prior  to 
temporal  history.  The  system  is  divided  into  three  S3f»t<'iii  ni 
parts:  (1)  God  and  his  outgoing,  {2)  the  fall  of  the 
created  spirit  and  the  consequences,  (3)  redemption 
and  restc  ration.  That  freedom  will  only  be  a  sem- 
blance, if  the  spirit  must  finally  attain  unto  its  end 
( )rigen  did  not  observe.  In  carrying  out  his  sche"  . : 
he  was  so  earnest  that  he  even  limited  the  Divine 
onmipotence  and  omniscience.  Out  of  the  Hi.' 
Scriptures  the  God-world  drama  is  educed  (secret  tra- 
dition which  still  played  a  great  role  in  Clement  en- 
tirely recedes).  As  the  cosmos  is  spiritual,  psychic 
and  material,  so  also  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  second 
revelation,  consist  of  these  three  parts.  Thereby 
was  a  secure  method  given  for  exegesis ;  it  has,  (1)  to 
discover  the  verbal  sense,  which,  however,  is  tlie 
shell,  (2)  the  psychic-moral  sense,  (.'3)  the  pneumatic. 
Here  and  there  this  pneumatic  is  alone  taken  into 
consideration  and  the  verbal  sense  must  even  be  cast 
aside,  whereby  only  one  is  permitted  to  discover  the 
deeper  sense.  This  Biblical  alchemy  Origen  devel- 
oped with  the  greatest  virtuosity. 

(a)  God  is  the  One,  who  stands  over  against  the  God  is  one 

Over 

many  that  point  back  to  him  as  the  Cause ;  he  is  the    tife^Man*^ 
absolute  Existence  and  spiritual  Being,  who  stands 
over  against  conditioned  existences.     He  is  different 
from  the  many,  yet  the  order,  the  dependence  and 


Oript-n's 
Ex«'Kt'si.s. 


H 


158        OiriJNKS   OK   TUE   IIISTOKV    OF    DOCiMA. 


\i 


Mi. 


um 


if 


O'..'  Not 

Absolutely 

Oiiiiiis- 

cii'Tit  and 

Oimiipo- 

tciit. 


Lotr<is  is 
(lod. 


tho  longiiij^-  of  tlio  many  tell  of  liiiii.  God  as  the 
absolute  Causo,  with  Hclf-consciousness  and  will, 
is  sot  forth  as  nioro  living  and,  so  to  spoak,  as  moro 
personal  by  Origcn  than  by  tho  gnostics  and  tho 
Noo-Platonists.  But  God  is  over  eausality,  and 
thoroi'oro  never  to  bo  thought  oi  apart  from  rovc.'la- 
tion.  That  ho  creates  belongs  to  his  being,  which  is 
revealed  indeed  even  in  tho  many.  Since  however 
all  revelation  nuist  bo  partial,  Origen  permits  no 
limitless  conceptions  to  be  applied  to  the  Omniscience 
and  Omnipotence;  God  cdu  only  what  he  irillj  ho 
cannot  do  that  which  is  in  itself  contradictor}'  and 
is  not  able  to  become  existent  (all  miracles  are  natu- 
ral) ;  ho  cannot  indeed  make  tho  created  absolutely 
good,  since  tho  conception  of  tho  created  includes  a 
privatio  of  being;  he  can  make  tho  same  only  poten- 
tially good ;  for  tho  idea  never  goes  forth  without  re- 
serve into  the  substance  which  gives  it  form.  Free- 
dom also  places  limitations  upon  God,  which  he,  it  is 
true,  imposed  upon  himself.  Thus  are  relative  ideas 
applied  to  tho  idea  of  God.  God  is  love  and  goodness ; 
righteousness  is  a  manifestation  of  his  goodness. 

Since  God  is  eternally  revealed,  the  world  is  eter- 
nal, but  not  this  world,  yet  tho  world  of  spirits. 
With  this  world,  however,  God  is  united  through 
tho  Logos,  into  whom,  laying  aside  his  absolute 
apathy,  God  once  again  entered.  Tlio  Logos  is 
God  himself  and  at  the  same  time  tho  totality'  and 
the  creator  of  tho  many  (Philo),  a  special  hypostasis, 
like   indeed  the  self -consciousness  of  God  and  tho 


ii 


THE    LAYTXr;    OF   TIIK    FOUNDATION. 


150 


Hi-  is  \U" 


to  tln> 
Miiiiy- 


potency  of  tlio  world.  Tlu'  Lojjjos  is  tlie  perfoi't  like- 
ness of  God  (">'">'''"T£"v) .  Ill"  has  nothii).i;  (•(•rporeal 
uhoiit  him  and  is  therefore  true  God,  yet  a  second 
God  (no  sharing  of  Divinity,  "'>  xara  inrnnrtia-^^  iOJA 
Xjur  onni'vj  ffzo^).  Hu  /.s'  hn/oftcii  of  the  essence  oi  tlu» 
Father  from  eternity;  there  was  no  time  when  he 
was  not,  and  ho  over  goes  forth  from  the  Father's 
heing  through  the  Divine  constraining  will.  But 
even  because  ho  is  siibslnntid  suhsfdiilidlUcr  sfih- 
sistois,  he  is  as  such  no  '/y'-^'-"'/'"^;  he  is  an  uiTiarn,^ 
the  Father  is  -[>oj7<i>  </•>£«*>.  Accordingly  he  is  the 
first  stage  in  the  transition  fnmi  the  One;  to  the  n-ui'iMmn" 
many;  from  the  standpoint  of  God  the  xTi>T;ia  i>;i(ii>n- 
(T'.iry^  from  (jur  standpoint  the  manifest,  essential  God. 
For  us  alone  therefore  does  the  essential  likeness  of 
the  Father  and  Son  exist;  his  uncliangeahleness  is 
therefore  only  relative,  since  it  does  not  reside  in  tlie 
autousie.  Everywhere  in  this  speculation  in  regard 
to  the  Logos-Creator,  there  is  no  thouglit  of  the 
Logos-Redeemer.  The  Holy  Spirit  also — the  rule  of 
faith  necessitated  him — is  included  in  tlie  Godhead 
as  a  third  unchangealjlo  being  and  reckoned  as  a 
third  stage  and  hyi)Ostasis.  He  is  become  through 
the  Son  and  is  related  to  him  as  the  Son  to  the 
Father.  His  sphere  of  activity  is  the  smallest — 
strangely  enough,  indeed,  the  most  important.  The 
Father  is  the  principle  of  existence,  the  Son  (jf 
reason,  the  Spirit  of  that  which  is  holy.  This  grad- 
uated trinity  is  a  trinity  of  revelation,  but  even  on 
that  account  also  innninent  and  persistent,  since  God 


Holy 
spirit. 


k 


I  ' 


H-' 


'ii^ 


('rfat4'(| 
SpiritH. 


|M 


100       OUTLINKS   OF   THK    HlSTOliY    OK    FXXiMA. 

can  never  bo  thought  of  {ipart  from  revelation.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  tlio  transition  to  tho  fulness  of  spirits 
and  ideas,  which,  created  through  the  Son,  are  in 
truth  tho  unfolding  of  his  own  fulness.  Tho  charac- 
teristic of  cvvdled  spirits  is  the  hoconu'ny  (advance, 
7r/>»x»*:rr;'),  i.e.  frecidoui  (opposition  to  tho  heretical 
gnosis).  But  tho  freedom  is  still  relative,  i.e.  in  a 
broad  sense  they  are  free;  fundamentally  however 
there  exists  the  rigid  necessity  for  the  created  spirit 
Frotdom.  to  reacli  the  goal.  Freedom  therefore  is  snh  specie 
aetenutatis  necessary  evoUition.  Out  of  freedom 
Origen  sought  to  understand  tho  actual  world;  for  to 
tho  spirits  belong  also  human  spirits;  they  were  all 
created  from  eteniiff/  (G(xl  is  ever  a  Creator),  orig- 
inally alike  in  substance;  but  their  duties  are  dift'er- 
ent  and  therefore  their  development.  In  so  far  as 
they  are  changeable  spirits  they  are  all  endowed  with 
a  kind  of  corporeality.  In  tho  fact  itself  of  being 
created  there  is  ordained  for  angels  and  men  a  kind 
of  materiality.  As  to  how  they  might  have  devel- 
oped themselves  Origen  did  not  speculate,  but  only 
as  to  how  they  have  developed. 

(b)  They  should  all  attain  unto  a  persistent  exist- 
ence, in  order  to  make  room  then  for  new  creations. 
But  they  fall  into  idleness  and  disobedience  (pre- 
existent  fall  into  sin) .  To  curb  and  purify  them  the 
visible  world  was  created;  this  is  also  a  house  of 
correction  and  the  spirits  are,  through  the  bondage 
of  the  soul,  shut  up  in  divers  bodies,  the  grossest  of 
which  have  devils,   the  finest  angels,   the  medium 


Fait, 

World  Crc- 

att'd  to 

Kfdft'in 

TlllMll. 


\ 


i 


THK    I.AVIN(J    OK   TIIK    KorNDATION. 


IGl 


rnon,  wlio  are  Mupj^orted  and  ('ndjiiij^crcd  by  devils 
iUid  angels  (acceptance  of  popidar  repn^sentatidns). 
Lifi3  is  a  discipline,  a  contlict  under  the  pennissiou 
and  loading  of  (iod,  wliich  will  end  with  the  con- 
<luost  and  destruction  of  evil.  Thus  harshly,  almost 
ihiddhistically,  did  Origen  think  of  the  world — he  is 
however  fundanientallv  an  optimist.  .Man  consists  Man  con- 
of  Spirit,  soul  ai".d  body  (after  IMato  and  because  the  s-tilil'i'imi 
s[)irit  cannot  be  the  principle  of  action  antagonistic 
to  God.  The  soul  is  treateil  just  as  inconsistently  as 
tlio  Logos  :  It  is  a  spirit  grown  cold  and  yet  no  spirit. 
It  was  thus  concci  V(hI  in  order  to  makt.'  the  fall  conceiv- 
able, and  yet  to  guard  the  integrity  of  the  reason!d)lo 
soul).  Man's  conflict  consists  in  the  striving  of  those 
powers  inherent  in  his  constitution  to  gain  dominion 
over  his  environment.  Sin  inheres  on  the  one  side 
in  the  earthly  state  (in  reality  all  /////.s7  l.'e  sinners) ; 
on  the  otlier,  it  is  the  product  of  freedom,  but  is  even 
tlicrefore  conquerable  when  God  assists.  For  with- 
out him  nothing  is  good. 

(c)  But  we   must  hcHp  ourselves ;    God   helps  as  fJ<Mi  iirins 
teacher,    first    through    the    laws    of    nature,    then    J'J^^^"'' 

'  '^  '  Natiirt'.  of 

through  the  laws  *  *"  Moses,  then  through  the  Gos})el  Gospel', 
(to  each  according  to  his  kind  and  according  to  the 
measure  of  his  receptivity) ;  the  peifect  he  hi'lps 
through  the  cfcntal  Gospel,  wliich  has  no  outer  shell 
and  no  representation.  Revelation  is  a  manifold, 
gradual  I'endering  of  help,  which  (\)mes  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  growing  creature  (the  significance  of  the 

people  Israel  is  recognized) .   But  the  Logos  must  him- 
11 


li 


H  \ 


\ 


'if»i 


riiris- 

Coiniilt'x. 


102        Ol'TLINKS   OF   VHE    HISTORY    OF    I)0(;MA. 

self  appear  and  help.  His  work  must  be  as  compli- 
cated as  the  need  is :  He  must  exhibit  to  the  one  class 
the  true  victory  ovor  death  and  the  demons,  must,  as 
the  God-man,  bring  an  offering  which  represents  the 
expiation  of  sin,  must  pay  the  price  of  redemption 
which  shall  end  the  dominion  of  the  devil — in  short 
ho  must  bring  a  comprehensible  redem}>tion  in 
''deeds''.  (Oi'igen  first  introduced  into  the  Gentile 
Church  a  theory  of  reconciliation  and  atonement; 
but  one  should  consider  in  what  age  he  wro^e.)  To 
others,  however,  he  must,  as  Divine  teacher  and 
Hicrourge,  disclose  the  depths  of  knowledge  and  bring 
to  them  a  new  principle  of  life,  so  that  they  may 
share  his  life  and,  interwoven  with  the  Divine  Being 
himself,  may  become  divine.  Return  to  connnunit)n 
with  God  is  here,  as  3'onder,  the  goal;  3'onder 
through  facts  toward  whi(^li  man  directs  his  faith ; 
here  through  knowledge  and  love,  which,  striving  up 
beyond  the  Cruciiied,  lays  hold  upon  eternal  lif(>  as  the 
Logos  himself  encompasses  it.  The  "  facts"  are  also, 
as  with  the  gnostics,  not  simulation  or  an  indifferent 
basis  of  truth,  but  are  truth,  though  not  fJie  truth. 
Thus  he  reconciled  faith  and  the  philosophy  of  relig- 
ion. Ho  can  commend  the  cosmic  significance  of 
the  death  on  the  cross,  a  work  which  encompasses 
all  spirits,  and  yet  rise  above  this  occurrence  by  spec- 
idatioDS  which  have  no  history. 

In  accordance  therewith  his  Christologv  takes  its 
form;  its  characteristic  is  its  comj)lexity:  Th(»  \ie- 
tleenicr  wat-  all  tliat  Christians  <';>n  think  him  tolia\o 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION, 


1  r,3 


i> 
lie 


B 

of 

OS 

je- 
ts 

,0- 


boen.  For  the  gnostic  ho  is  the  divine  Principle, 
the  Teacher,  the  First-Born,  the  knowablc,  Divine 
Reason.  The  gnostic  knows  no  "  Christ ol()<j;y"  :  From 
Christ  on  began  the  perfect  indwelling  of  the  I.ogos 
in  mankind.  Here,  there^'^re,  neither  tlie  Divinity 
nor  the  humanity  of  Christ  is  a  (juestion  or  a  prob- 
lem. But  for  the  imperfect  Christian  Christ  is  the 
God-man,  and  the  gnostic  is  in  duty  bound  to  solve 
the  problem  which  this  expression  offers  and  to 
guard  the  solution  from  errors  on  the  right  and  on 
the  left  (against  docetism  and  ebionitism).  The 
Logos  could  unite  itself  with  the  body  only  through 
the  medium  of  a  human  soul.  This  soul  vras  a  pure 
unfallen  spirit,  which  had  destined  itself  for  the  soul 
in  order  to  serve  the  purposes  of  redemption.  It  was 
a  pure  spirit  fundamentally  united  with  the  Logos 
and  became  then,  by  reason  of  its  moral  worthiness, 
a  medium  for  the  incarnation  of  the  Logos  (closest 
inner  union,  but  really  perfect  only  through  incessant 
exercise  of  will  from  both  sides ;  therefore  no  ming- 
ling). The  Logos  remains  unchangeable;  only  the 
soul  hungers  and  suffers,  inasmuch  as  it,  like  the  Eifmeut. 
body,  is  truly  human.  But  because  both  are  pure 
and  their  substance  is  in  itself  without  (pialities,  his 
body  was  still  acfuidhj  totally  different  from  ours 
(Clement  is  still  more  docetic).  The  body  could  at 
any  moment  assume  such  a  character  as  the  situa- 
tion reijuirod,  in  order  to  make  the  strongest  imi)res- 
sion  upon  different  persons.  The  Logos  was  also  not 
shUi,  up  within  the  body,  but  wrought  everywhere  as 


pocotii' 


If 

» I 


104       OUTLIX?:S  OF   THK   HISTORY   OF  do(;ma. 


f 


■'  t 


hilhorto  and  united  itself  with  all  pious  souls.  It 
is  true  the  union  was  with  none  so  close  as  with  the 
soul  of  Jesus,  and  the  same  was  true  as  regards  his 
body.  The  Logos  illumined  and  deified  the  soul 
gradually  during  the  earthly  life,  and  the  soul  the 
body.  The  functions  and  the  attril)utcs  of  the  in- 
carnate Logos  form  a  gradation,  in  tlie  knowledge 
of  which  believers  progress.  The  union  became  so 
close  {/.iifMO'^ia^  lvo)(T.<^  (hd/.itaf!'.^)  that  the  attributes 
are  interchanged  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Finally 
Jesus  api)ears  transformed  into  Spirit,  received  into 
.lUKusiiiui    the  Godhead,    Ihc  same  irith  the  Lof/os.     But  the 


LOLMS 


:tiiieaiiy  uuiou  is  f undamcntall  V  ethical  and  finaliv  not  unique. 
All  conceivable  heresies  are  here  touched  upon,  but 
guarded  by  cautions  (Jesus  the  heavenly  man — yet 
all  men  are  heavenly;  the  adoption  Christology — 
but  the  Logos  behind  it;  the  conception  of  two  Logoi ; 
the  gnostic  severing  of  Jesus  and  the  Christ;  mo- 
nophysite  commingling;  docetism),  save  only  modal- 
ism.  That  in  a  .'^vicnfijic  Christology  so  much  room 
was  left  for  the  humanity  is  the  important  thing; 
the  idea  of  the  iiicdriiaiion  is  accepted. 

Tlu^  redemptive  adaptations  are  in  all  this  already 
indicated:  Freedom  and  faith  are  in  the  van.  As  in 
Christ  the  human  soul  gradually  united  itself  with 
the  Logos,  so  man  receives  grace  gradually,  in  keep- 
ing with  liis  progress  (Neo-Platonic  progressive 
stagi's  (»r  knowledge  from  simple  science  and  sensu- 
ous things  oiiwai'd;  yet  ecstasy  and  visions  recede; 
there  is  little  that  is  shadowy).     Everywhere  a  blend- 


Frccdorn 
.111(1   Faith. 


1 
U 


THE    T.AYINC    OF   THE    F<  H'NDATK  )N. 


Klf) 


ing'  of  freoiloni  iiiul  riiligliteiiiiicut  is  lU'Ct^ssai'v,  and 
the  ecclesiawtical  faith  remains  the  starting-point  also 
of  tlie  "theoretic  life",  until  this  conies  to  j<^yous  as- 
cetic contemjilation,  in  which  the  Logos  is  the  friend 
and  bridegroom  of  the  sonl  that  is  now  deified  in  love 

and  rests  in  Divinity.     Regeneration  Origen  recog-    uepiMia- 

tidii 
izod  only  as  a  process;  but  in  him  and  (dement  are    ui'navss. 

fomid  st[itements  joined  to  the  New  Testament  ((hul 
as  Love,  as  the  Father,  regeneration,  adoption)  which, 
free  from  the  shackles  of  the  system,  set  forth  the 
evangelical  annomicement  in  a  surprisingly  pertinent 
wav.  In  the  highest  sense  there  are  no  "  means  of 
grace",  but  the  symbols  which  accomiiany  tht^  be- 
stowal of  grace  are  not  ecpially  good.  Tho  system  M.!;Ji""torJ 
of  numerous  mediat(jrs  and  intercessors  (angels, 
martyrs,  living  saints)  Origen  first  brought  actually 
into  oiXTation  and  encouraged  praj'ers  to  these  (as 
regards  praying  to  Christ  Origen  was  very  reticent). 

According  to  Origen  all  s])irits  will,  in  the  f(;rm  rniy.Tsai 
of  their  individual  lives,  be  finall\'  rescued  and  glor-  """ 
ified  (apokatastasis),  in  order  to  make  way  for  a  new 
world-epoch.  The  sensuous-eschatological  expecta- 
tions are  i)i  fofo  banished.  The  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  liody  Origen  adopted  (rule  of 
lit  he  conceived  of  it  in  such  a 


'), 


»3' 


corpus  spiritale  will  rise,  in  which  all  sense-facul- 
ties, y«'s  all  the  members  which  have  sensuous  func- 
tions, will  be  wanting,  £md  which  will  shine  brightly 
like  the  angels  and  stars.     The  souls  of  those  who   ^'"''k^^"">' 
have  fallen  asleep  will  go  at  once  to  paradise  (no 


i. 


Lopos- 
C'liiis- 
tolugy. 


IOC        OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

sloe})iiig  of  tlio  soTil) ;  tlio  souls  which  aro  not  yet 
purified  will  pass  into  a  new  condition  of  ;^)unish- 
meut  (purgatory),  which  will  purify  them  still  far- 
ther (the  remorse  of  conscience  is  hell).  Only  so  far, 
however,  did  Origen  accept  the  ecclesiastical  doctrine 
of  damnation;  at  last  all  spirits,  the  demons  them- 
selves, will  return  to  God  pnrified.  Yet  is  his  doc- 
trine esoteric:  "for  the  common  man  it  is  enough  to 
know  that  sin  will  bo  punished".  This  sj'stem  drove 
fr(jm  the  field  the  heretic  gnostic  theology  and  later 
dominated  the  ecclesiastical  theology  of  the  Orient. 
But  the  Church  could  not  for  any  length  of  time  ap- 
prove of  all  the  teaching  of  Origen  or  content  itself 
with  his  sliarp  discrimination  between  faith  and  the 
svieiice  of  faith.  It  was  obliged  to  iry  to  miite  both 
and  to  put  them  upon  the  same  plane  (like  Irenaius). 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DECISIVE  RESULT  OF  TIIEOLOCJICAL  SPECULATION 
AVITHIN  THE  REAL\I  OF  THE  RULE  OF  FAITH, 
OR  THE  DEFINING  OF  THE  ECCLKSlASl  iCAL  DOC- 
TRINAL NORM  THROUGH  THE  ACCEPT  INCE  OF 
THE    LOCJOS-CHRISTOLOGY. 

The  L v>g  )s-(Jln'i8*-ology  alone  permitted  a  uniting 
of  faith  and  scinnce,  corresponded  to  the  doctrine  that 
Godlvcauiv  '.n<i>\  ii\  ordartiip'  v/e  might  becon^e  gods, 
and  thiv-  Mr^iporlul  Christianity  from  without  and 
from  withn      Bit  't  .vhs  by  no  means  wide-spread 


fl 


TliE   LAYING    OF    TTIE    F(^rNT)ATTON. 


\'.\7 


in  the  ehiirche'S  in  tlu)  yonv  lOO,  or  even  later;  rather 
was  it  in  part  unknown,  and  in  part  feared  as 
heretie-gnostic  (destruction  of  the  Divine  monarchy, 
that  is,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  Diviniiy  of  Christ)  ; 
Tertull.  adi\  P)-a.v.  ',}:  ''  Siuiplices  qu((2nc,  nedixe- 
reni  iitpiiidotfcs  et  idiotac,  quae  malor  semper 
pars  cre(le}iti  1(1)1  est,  ((uouiam  et  ipsa  requJa  jidei 
apluribiis  diis  saeeuli  ad  tnu'einn  et  rerion  deitm 
transfert,  uon.  iiiteJligeitfes  iiuiemn  (piidein,  sed 
cum  sua  ir./.ir,,>i,.i(L  esse  eredeiidum,  e.vpavescunt  ad 
oixuvofjL'M  .  .  .  Jfaque  duos  et  tres  iam  iactitaut  a 
nobis  pradieari,  se  rero  unius  dei  cultures  prae- 
sumunt  .  .  .  )no)ntrcJiiam  iiiquiunt  tenemus^\ 
The   establishment  of  the   Log'os-Christology  with-      Estab- 

lislit'u  J>y 

in  the  faith  of  the  Church — and  indeed  as  articu-   .u.out  :^(h> 

*'  Effect. 

lus  fuiidamoitalis — was  accomplislied  after  severe 
conflicts  during  the  course  of  a  hundred  years  (till 
about  300).  It  signified  the  transformation  of  the 
faith  into  a  system  of  beliefs  with  an  Hellenic-philo- 
sophical cast ;  it  shoved  the  old  eschatological  rejire- 
sentations  aside,  and  even  suppressed  them ;  it  put 
back  of  the  Christ  of  historj'  a  conceivable  Christ,  a 
principle,  and  reduced  the  historical  figure  to  a  m<  -e 
appearance;  it  referred  the  Christian  to  "natures" 
and  naturalistic  magnitudes,  instead  of  to  the  Person 
and  to  the  ethical ;  it  gave  the  faith  of  tlu^  Christians  a 
definite  trend  toward  tlie  contemplation  of  ideas  and 
doctrinal  formulas,  and  prepared  the  ^^'ay,  on  the  one- 
side  for  the  monastic  life,  on  the  other  for  the  chap- 
eroned Christianity  of  the  imi)erfect,  active  laity ;  it 


11 


\^ 


Monarrh- 

ianisiu 
Rt'Kisted. 


Resistance 
in  Vain. 


ins       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOCiMA. 

logilimized  ji  liiindrod  questions  in  metaphysics, 
cosmology,  and  natural  science  as  ecclesiastical,  and 
demanded,  inider  threat  of  l(jss  of  bliss,  a  definite 
answer;  it  went  so  far  that  men  preached,  instead  of 
faith,  rather  faith  in  the  faith,  and  it  stunted  religion 
while  it  appeared  to  broaden  it.  But  in  that  it  made 
the  bond  with  natural  science  perfect  it  i-aised  Chris- 
tianity to  the  world-and-everybod3''s  religion  and 
prepared  the  way  for  the  act  of  Constantine. 

The  tendencies  in  the  Church,  which  strove  against 
philosophical  Christianity  and  the  Logos-Christology , 
men  called  monarch iaii  (so  first  Tertullian).  The 
name  was  not  hai)pily  chosen,  since  many  monarch- 
ians  acknowledged  a  second  hypostasis,  yet  made 
use  of  it  for  everything  except  for  Christology.  Two 
tendencies  can  be  distinguished  among  the  monarch- 
ians  (see  the  old  Christologies,  Book  I.  chap.  3,  sub  (i) : 
The  adoption,  which  looked  upon  the  Divine  in 
Christ  as  a  power  and  started  from  the  human  per- 
son of  Jesus  which  was  deified,  and  tlie  niodalistic, 
which  held  Christ  to  be  a  manifestation  of  God  the 
Father.  Both  contested  the  Logos-Christology  as 
"gnosticism";  the  first  through  an  avowed  interest 
in  the  historical  rei)resentation  of  Christ  (Synoptic), 
the  second  in  the  interest  of  monarchy  and  of  the  Di- 
vinity of  Christ.  Both  tondcnicies,  passing  into  each 
other,  were  CafJioIic,  maintnining  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  ru1(*  of  f;».itli  (neither  "  ebi(mitic  ", 
nor  gnostic) ;  but  after  the  New  Testament  had  es- 
tablished itself  as  such  the  contest  was  in  vain ;  for 


i 


TUV:    I,AYIN(i    OK   TUK    KolNDATlUN. 


IGO 


altlumgh  there  are  passages  in  the  New  'Pcstanieiit 
ill  favor  of  these  theses,  the  other  passages  whieli 
maintain  the  pre-existeiiee  of  Christ  as  a  speeial 
hypostasis  outweigli  them — at  least  aeeording  to 
the  interpretation  then  enrrent — and  it  seemed  self- 
evident  that  the  "lower"  in  the  e.\])r('ssions  should 
everywhere  be  interpreted  aeeording  to  the  '"higher" 
(pneumatie),  (therefore  the  Synoptics  in  aeeurd- 
anee  with  John).  In  all  eeelesiastieal  i)n)vinees 
there  were  nionarehiaii  contests;  but  we  know  them 
only  in  ])art. 

(1)  The  licjeciiou  of  Df/uiiiiiic  MouarcliiaN- 
isniy  or  A(Joj)fiottisi)i.  —  {(()  The  alo(/oi  (iiicl;  ;.:  .i-; 
sources:  Ireiunis,  Hippolytus,  Epiphanius)  in  Asia 
Minor  were  a  party  of  the  radical  anti-]\Iontanis- 
tic  op})osition,  which  rejected  (///  prophecy  in  the 
Church;  they  a])peared  at  a  time  when  there  was  as 
yet  no  Xew  Testament.  They  criticised  the  Johaii- 
iiean  writings  on  historical  grounds  and  rejected  them 
on  account  of  their  proclamation  of  the  Paraclete 
and  the  apocrdypse,  at  the  same  time  proving  tlu^  in- 
accuracy of  the  historical  narratives  in  the  Johaimeaii 
Gospel.  But  tlu>3'  criticised  also  the  docetism  of  the 
Gospel,  hesitated  at  the  Logos,  and  decided  that  the 
untrue  writings,  which,  on  the  one  hand,  contained 
Jewish-naturalistic  elements,  on  the  other,  docctic- 
giiostic,  must  have  originated  with  Cerinthus.  Their 
own  Christology  was  fashioned  after  the  Synoptics: 
The  miraculous  birth,  the  descent  of  the  S})irit  upon 
Jesus,  his  develoiimeiit,  the  exaltation  through  his 


Adiiptidii 

i  s  I  u 
Kej.i't.-a. 


Svnnptic 
Chris 
tulDKy. 


"Si 

II : 


■ ' 


•)l 


>     ) 


k  > 


!i 


Expelled 

from 

KoriiH. 


170       OUTLINES   OF   TIIR    HISTORY   OF   DOfJMA. 

resurrortioTi  coiistituto  liis  dignity.  The  earliest  op- 
jxnicnts  (Irciia'iis,  Hippolytiis)  treated  these  in  a 
measure  respectfully,  since  these  "alogoi  "  did  good 
service*  against  the  Montanists.  But  one  must  s/iy, 
notwithstanding  the  high  esteem  which  the  '*  alogoi  " 
had  for  sound  historical  criticism,  that  their  relig- 
ious inspiration  could  not  have  been  of  a  very  high 
order;  for  they  were  neither  apocalyptic  enthusiasts, 
nor  mystics:  Wherein  then  consisted  the  power  of 
their  piety? 

[b)  The  same  can  be  said  of  the  Roman-adopfioii 
parties  of  fJie  Theodotiaiis,  who  stood  in  evident 
alliance  with  tlie  "  alogoi "  (the  cobbler  Theodo- 
tus  and  his  party,  Theodotus  the  banker,  the 
Artemonites).  They  established  themselves  after 
al^out  1 85  in  Rome  (the  elder  Theodotus  was  from 
Byzantium,  a  mai;  -^f  unusual  culture);  but  already 
had  bishop  Victor  (;f  Rome  expelled  Theodotus  (c. 
l'J5)  from  the  Church,  because  he  held  Christ  to  be 
a  (/nko<s  o.vhi)o)-o^ — the  first  case  where  a  Christian  who 
stood  upon  the  rule  of  faith  is  disciplined  as  an 
unsound  teacher.  Theodotus  taught  as  did  the 
"alogoi"  concerning  Christ  (-/"'^'>-y/'  of  the  miracu- 
lously born  man  Jesus,  equipped  by  his  baptism  and 
pre})ared  for  his  exaltation  through  the  resurrection ; 
stress  upon  the  ethical  proof),  but  recognized  the 
Johannean  Gospel  already  as  Holy  Scripture,  and 
carried  on  his  Scripture  argument  in  the  same  sound 
critical  way  as  did  the  latter  (Deut.  18:  15;  Jer.  li: 
9;  Isa.  53:  1  seq.;  Matt,  i"^:  31;    Luke   1:  35;  Jno. 


THK    I.AV1N({    OI'   TIIK    FOlNDATION. 


171 


S:  4(»-  Arts  -  -> ;  I.  Tim.  "> :  5).     Und.r  their  most   ^i-M- 
distiiiguisliL'd    pupil    TluMuU.tus,    tho    baniu-r,     the 
adoptionists    zc.dously  cultivated    the  eriticisui   of 
the    sacred    text,     empirical    science    aud     natural 
phenomena  (not  willi   Plato),  and  stood  as  a  school 
alonu:side  the  Church  (see  the  description  in  FAiscbius, 
H.  E.  V,  -.^S).     Their    attempt    to    found  a    church 
(bishop  Xatalis)  was  soon  frustrated  (at  the  timc«  of 
})ishop  Zephyrinus);  they  remained  as  officers  with 
an  ever-dwindling  army.     Out  of  their  thesis,  that 
the  Holy  Spirit,  ^vhose  hypostasis  (as  eternal  Son  of 
God,  see  llermas  whose  Christolo^y  they  followed) 
they  acknowledged,  stood  higher  than  Jesus,  since 
the  latter  is  only  an  adopted  God,  their  opponents 
made  a  capital  heresy.     Inasmuch  as  they  ascril)ed 
the  Old  Testament   theophanies  to  this  eternal  Son 
of   God   and    took    Melchisedec    to   be   a   manifes- 
tation of  the  eternal  Son,  they  were  called  Melchis- 
edecs,  because  they  prayed  to  him.     Of  the  learned 
labors  of  these  men  nothing  remains  to  us.     Ilippo- 
lytus  informs  us  that  some  of  them  would  not  concede 
that  Christ  is  a  God,  even  after  his  resurrection; 
others  acknowledged  the  ^^^o::,nr,n:,.    It  became  clear  in 
the  contest  that  an  alliance  with  the  science  of  Aris- 
totle, Euclid,  and  Galen,  was  not  compatible  with  the 
Church,  but  on  the  contrary  that  it  demands  an  alli- 
ance with   Plato,   and   that  the   old   Christology  of 
Hermas~the   adoptionists   app'aled    t<^   such  docu- 
ments-was no  longer  satisfactory.     Some  decades 
later  there  appeared  in  Rome  in  the  person  of  Arte- 


Cliris- 
rUiltiiiic. 


I 


I 


i  I 


?!: 


(PP 


'  I 


I7'i       OITI.INKS   OF   THE    IIISTOKV    OF    DOfJMA. 

moil  a  still  uu>vv  iiiii)(»rtaiit  adoidioiiist  teacher,  of 
whom,  liowevcr,  littlo  is  known.  He  also  put  asido 
the  predicate?  "(jjod  "  im  applied  to  Christ,  but  seems 
not  to  have  agreed  rigidly  in  all  particulars  with  the 
AdupHnii-    'I  heodotians.     About  the  3'ear  "350  ad  opt  ion  ism  was 

ism  N'liii- 

isin-;  rr,,m  insignilicaul  in  Homo  (Cvprian  is  silent;  yet  see 
Novatian.  (/<'  lriiiH.)\  but  in  the  Occident  it  contin- 
ued for  a  long  time  in  the  Church  formulas,  as 
''  '!jjirilns  sdiichis  del  Jilins,  caro  Jesus — spirH us 
scinefns  Chrislus — spirit  us  earui  lui.rfus  ,/esns 
C/u'ishfs''  (through  tli(>  reading  of  tlic  highly  es- 
tt»emed  TIermas) ;  and  it  is  instructive  that  Augustine 
still  a  short  time  before  his  conversion  thought  the 
adoption  C-hristology  to  be  the  Catholic.  Therefore 
the  orthodox  Christological  fornmlas  were  still  little 
known  in  the  fourth  century  in  the  Occidental  laitv- 
wt)rld. 

((*)  From  the  writings  of  Origen  one  gathers  that 
there  were  adoptionists  also  in  the  Orient.  Origen 
treated  them  as  misguided,  i.e.  as  simple-mindetl 
Christian  brethren,  who  needed  friendly  instruction; 
did  he  not  himself  make  use  of  the  adoption  view  in 
his  com})licated  Christology  (accordingly  he  was  later 
unjustly  classed  with  the  adoptionists;  against  this 

Boryiius..f  Pam])hilus  defended  him)  ?     Ber^dlus  of  Bostra,  the 

nostra.  i  'J  '  . 

mcHiarchinn  tivicher  who  won  a  large  following  in 
Arabia  and  Svria,  became  conyinced  of  the  truth  of 
the  Log()s-ChristoU)gy  through  Origen  (Euseb.  VI., 

33 :    T'''V    (7(1)7," iiu    xo.)    /.')ii'.()v  rjiiuv  /j-r^   7:(i(i>"Kf£f7T'J'/ac   xaz     idiw^ 


Ail<i[iti()n 
i.-^iii  ill 
C)i'it'nt. 


TlIK    LAYFN(i    OF   TIIK    FOUNDATION, 


ir:3 


7:aT(nxy^),  Thoso  Ej^yptiaii  rliiliiists,  wliom  Dioiiy- 
sius  of  Alexandria  opposed,  and  whose  teaeliin^  '-/n 

acknowledged  as  necessary,  may  have  favon  d  dynam- 
ical representations.  But  no  great  adojdion  move- 
ment was  nndertaken  in  the  ( )rient,  s;  ve  \)y  Paul  of 
Samosata,  nu>tro})()litan  nf  Antiocli  (JMiseh.  Vil, 
27-;J();  other  material  in  Kouth,  liel.  Sacr.  11.1.),  tho 
national  Syrian  l)isli()|>,  who  opjiosed  the  (Jreeks  and 
their  science  as  well  as  the  Unmans  and  their  chnrcli. 
That  two  great  Oriental  general  council  -  at  .Antiocli 
proved  ineti'ectivo  against  him,  and  t)idy  the  third 
condenmed  and  deposed  him  (ver}'  prohahh'  2GS)  is 
an  evidence  of  how  little  even  yet  the  Alexandrian 
dogmatics  had  found  acceptance  in  the  ( )rient,  Paul 
was  a  learned  theologian  (unspiritual,  vain,  shrewd, 
sophistical;  a  "man  oi  the  world"  his  o))ponents 
called  him),  wdio  wished  to  hreak  tlu>  powi^*  of  the 
Hellenic  (Platonic)  philosophy  in  the  luu'ch  and  to 
maintain  tho  old  teaching.  In  later  times  he  ap- 
pears to  the  Church  as  a  heretic  of  the  first  order,  like 
a  Judas,  ebionite,  Nestorian,  monothelite,  etc.  His 
conception  was  this:  God  is  to  he  thought  of  sim- 
ply as  individually  personal  y--  z/torrozir^).  It  is  true 
that  in  God  a  Logos  (Son),  i.e.  a  Sophia  (Spirit),  can 
be  distinguished — both  are  otherwise  also  to  be  iden- 
tified— but  these  are  citiriJ)ntes.  God  from  eternity 
sent  forth  tho  Logos  from  himself,  so  that  one  can 
call  him  Son,  but  ho  remains  an  impersonal  power. 


Pnnl  of 
Suuiusuttt. 


PaiiTs 
DiK'trine. 


li 


ri. 


^, 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


2.2 


I.I 


11.25 


u  m 

11°    IIUI2.0 


1.8 


U    IIIIII.6 


III 


W 


Vj. 


/a 


f^  > 


^c>: 


/ 


o 


7 


/A 


Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


A 


^ 


iV 


^ 


\\ 


fv 


O 


'<* 


! 


A 


7a 


174        OUTl.INKS   OK   TIIK    HISTORY    OK    I)0(;MA. 


t    :;;.'<.' 


i; 


f 


Ho  worked  in  Mosoh  and  the  proi)het.s,  /inUnv  xa) 
liiatfzin'ivTw^  ill  tlio  Son  of  David,  born  of  the  virgin. 
Tlie  lledeenier  iri  a  man  from  "beneath",  but  the 
Logos  from  above  worked  within  him  (in-dwelling 
by  means  of  an  inspiration  working  from  without, 
so  that  the  Logos  becomes  the  "  inner  man  "  of  the 
Redeemer).     The  communion  which  thus  arises  is  a 

oufTiiuiii'^ri  :>  fT(i);w-i) ;  tlie  Logos  did  not  dwell  in  Jesus 
<>n(rui>il<'>s\  ])ut  xaT'l-iii'hr^ra-^  tlierefore  is  ho  alwaj'S  to  bo 
distinguished  from  tlie  latter  as  the  greater.  The 
lledeemer  is  the  man  wrought  upon  by  the  Logos; 
but  he  possessed  in  a  nniqiic  way  the  Divine  grace, 
just  as  his  position  is  uni(iue.  His  testimony  bears 
witness  to  his  endowments.  Between  two  persons — 
therefore  also  between  God  and  Christ — unity  of  dis- 
position and  of  will  alone  is  possible.  Such  unity  is 
realized  only  through  love;  but  also  onl}'  that  which 
comc.i  from  love  has  value;  that  which  is  gained 
thnnigh  "  nature  "  is  indifferent.  Jesus  by  reason  of 
the  unchangeableness  of  his  love  and  will  is  like  God 
and  has  become  one  with  him,  inasmuch  as  he  not 
only  himself  remained  without  sin,  but  through  con- 
flict and  endurance  overcame  the  sins  of  our  progen- 
itors. Like  as  he  however  advanced  and  persisted 
in  the  confirmation  of  the  good,  so  also  did  the 
Father  endow  him  with  might  and  miraculous  deeds, 
])y  which  he  made  known  his  unswerving  will  toward 
God.  Thus  he  became  the  Redeemer  and  entered 
into  an  indissoluble  and  eternal  union  with  God,  be- 


lAi' 


THK    LAVINc;    OF   TME    FOINDATION. 


11"'  r 


ranso  his  love  can  lun'cr  fail.  As  a  reward  of  his 
victorious  love  \w  has  obtained  a  name  above  every 
name,  judgment  and  Divin(»  dignity,  so  that  one  may 
call  him  "  tlu'  Clod  born  of  the  virgin",  which  he  has 
ever  been  in  (iod's  decree  and  proclamation  (through 
grace  and  conhrmation  did  he  attain  unto  Godhood  ; 
the  steps  were  here  also  i)irth,  baptism,  and  resurrec- 
tion). This  (»vnng(»lical  Christology,  which  was  the 
only  one  to  consciously  cast  aside  the  religious 
physics,  Paul  sii])ported  by  Scripture  })roofs  and  zeal- 
ously refuted  its  oi)])on(Mits,  es])(M'ially  the  "old  ex- 
])ositors'\  the  Alexandrians.  He  did  away  with  all 
(Miurcli  liturgies  in  which  the  essential  Divinity  of 
Christ  was  ])roclaimed;  he  would  know  nothing  of 
"substances",  but  held  fast  to  the  living  Pmsou. 
His  teaching  was  considered  heretical  in  the  highest 
degree  by  lh(^  learned  Hellenic  bishoi)s:  He  has  be- 
trayed the  mystery !  In  the  confession  of  six  bishops 
against  him  the  physical  Logos-doctrine  was  set  forth 
in  broad  terms  as  a  most  important  })art  of  the  apos- 
tolic and  Catholic  Church  faith.  At  the  s^'uod  the 
word  '^  <',aiin''i(T:(>i"  was  also  expressly  cast  aside,  evi- 
dently because  Paul  had  used  it  for  the  Logos  in 
order  to  prove  b}'  it  that  God  and  the  Logos  arc;  one 
subject.  With  Paul's  deposition  and  removal  {'Vt'i) 
it  was  decided  that  no  Catholic  Christian  dare  any 
more  doubt  the  Divine  />////.s'/.s'  of  the  Redeemer.  But 
the  teaching  of  Paul  did  not  succumb  in  Antiocb 
without  leaving  its  trace  behind.  Lucian  and  his 
renowned    lu'ofessional     sclmul,    the     birthplace    of 


F.vnntrrli- 
Clianu't^T. 


Taiil 
lK'pi>S«'(l. 


Lucian. 


\\i 


Irif 

V.'fljll 

*'  'il 

;   " '    f 
1 

1 ,  t 


I 


f    i^  • 

« " 

•i»  • 

i 

w 

1 

tk  ' 

Photlnus. 


Modalistic 

MonfU'ch- 

iani.sm. 


W)        OITTI.INKS    OK   TUK    HISTOIIV    OF    iXXiMA. 

Arianism,  wero  fructified  by  tlio  spirit  of  Paul. 
However,  the  doctrine  is  badly  disfigured  in  Arian- 
ism by  reason  of  its  combination  with  the  hyposta- 
tized  ki'iyn^-y-iniia.  On  the  contrary  Phot inus  and  the 
groat  Antiochians — although  the  latter  acknowledged 
the  Nicene  symbol — learned  their  bi^st  lesson  from 
Paul:  So-called  Nestorianisni  h.id  its  roots  in  Paul's 
teaching,  and  in  it  Paul  was  once  more  condemned. 

How  long  nid)roken  adoption  views  held  their 
sway  in  outl^'ing  Oriental  churches  is  indicated  by 
i\\Q  Act ((  ArcJtehti,  written  at  the  Ix^ginning  of  the 
fourth  century.  What  its  author,  a  clerical  teacher, 
says  about  (Mu-ist  is  very  like  the  teaching  of  Paul. 
But  in  the  great  centres  of  Christianity  adoptionism 
was  totally  broken  down  by  about  '110. 

(•^)  The  Rcjccfion  of  Modalistic  Mo)i((irhian- 
isni.  Not  adoptionism,  but  nn)dalism  was  the  dan- 
gerous opponent  of  the  Logos-Christology  between 
ISO  and  iJDO,  the  doctrine  according  to  which  the 
Godhead  itself  is  seen  incarnate  in  Christ,  and  ho 
himself  considered  the  very  and  only  God.  Against 
this  view  Tertullian,  Origen,  Novatian,  and  espe- 
cially Hippolytus  contended  most  enorgoticallj^  ("  pa- 
tripassiani",  they  were  first  called  by  Tertullian; 
in  the  Orient  later  the  most  common  expression  was 
"  Sabelliani '').  Hippolytus  says  that  in  his  time  tlio 
question   agitated  the  whok^  Church  (Philos.  IX,  G: 

liiyinTov  Tfifiaytty  xara  -rd'^za  r^'^  xi'iiT/ur^  cv  rurr'.w  T(>^.<i  "CTrr*?? 
ilL,3dXh»j(rv^)^  and  Tertullian  and  Origen  testify  that 
the  majority  of  Christian  people  think  "monarch- 


THE   LAYINCJ    OF   THE    FOUNDATION. 


1  <  I 


pa- 

m; 

I\va8 

tho 

:,G: 

that 
:ch- 


iaiiically".  In  Ronio,  from  Victor  to  Calixtiis,  y,,I^.f,^;"';;'.\,, 
modalism  was  the  otlicial  doctrino;  among  tlic  Mon-  vi,'.u„"i'o" 
tanists  one-half  thought  modahstically;  the  ^larcKj- 
nite  church  also  leaned  toward  this  view,  and  in  the 
Catholic  Church  from  the  earliest  times  on  many 
formulas  were  used  which  served  to  promote  this 
form  of  thought,  which  indeed  in  reality  best  agreed 
with  the  plain,  unrellcctiug  faith  ("  '''^''s'  /"">»  -V'''''*''0' 
But  an  exclusive  modalislic  docfrinc  was  first  de- 
veloped in  opposition  to  gnosticism  and  the  Logos- 
Christology,  (!)  in  order  to  ward  ofl"  ditheism,  {'i)  in 
order  to  maintain  the  full  Divinity  of  Christ,  (:!)  in 
order  to  sever  all  connection  with  gnosticism.  Now 
for  the  first  time  men  sought  to  (establish  this  faith 
energeticall}'  as  (loctvinc.  Scientific;  theologians  came 
to  its  defence.  But  to  this  religious  conception  more 
than  to  any  other  contact  with  thought  and  science 
must  needs  prove  detrimental :  It  was  the  beginning 
of  the  end;  however,  the  death-struggle!  continued  a 
long  time.  The  stoic  philosophy  with  its  pantheism 
and  its  dialectical  formulas  was  called  in  to  assist 
(the  adoptionists  relied  in  part  upon  Aristotle;  see 
above).  The  contn)vers3'  thus  i)resented  a  })hase 
which  makes  it  appear  related  to  the  controversy  of 
the  Platonists  and  common  stoics  about  the  idea  of 
God  (whether  the  /'^'-v-'Vi')^'  is  the  Intimate  God,  or 
whether  there  still  stands  behind  him  an  apathetic  ^>v 
as  '^£''9).  The  oldest  defenders  of  modalism,  hf)W- 
ever,  had  at  the  same  time  an  express  Biblical  in- 
terest. 

13 


.1 


II  ' 


1;  4 , 


Calixtus' 
( 'iiiiipro- 


misf 


178        OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

un.Tuo'm.'        (^^)  Here  also  wore  Asi<(   Minor  (uid   Rome  the 

Tii.'iMTs.  fn'st  theatres  of  the  controversy.  In  tlie  former  was 
Noetus  (he,  however,  was  i)r()hal)l\-  finally  (xcom- 
munieated),  in  the  hitter  his  pnjiil  ]^]j)iju,(>nus  (ahont 
'-ioo),  who  won  lirst  Kleonienes,  tlien  Sahelliiis  to  his 
cause.  Against  them  Hipjx^lytnscanK?  forward;  hut 
tlie  hishops  of  Home  favored  the  school  (above  {dl 
Z(»i)hyrinns).     Calixtns  (•*!  r-2*^'2),  originally  a  modal- 

runiiuia.  ist,  sought  to  satisfy  all  j)arties  l)y  a  ('onii)ronnse 
formula  and  found  himself  tluM-eby  obliged  to  excom- 
municate Ilipjiolytus  (rival  bishop)  as  well  as  Sabel- 
liu.s.  His  formula  seems  to  have  pacitied  the  maj(  r- 
ity.  How  imperfect  our  knowledge  of  this  matter 
is,  is  indicated  by  the  circumstance  th.it  lIi})polytus 
is  wholly  silent  about  the  modalist  Praxeas  in  Konie 
(sec  Tertullian).  Probably  the  latter  came  to  Pome 
before  Epigonus  (perhaps  even  under  Eleuthcrus), 
but  had  not  at  that  time  aroused  opposition,  h^ince 
ho  also  went  to  Carthage  and  was  an  out-and out 
anti-Montanist,  Tertullian  used  his  name  in  order 
to  combat  the  Roman  modalism  in  general  (about 
210).  Certain  is  it  that  Victor,  whoexconnnunicated 
Theodotus,  did  so,  not  from  the  stand{)oint  of  the 
Logos-Christology,  but  rather  from  that  of  modalism. 

Two  Moil-    Yet  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  two  monarchian 

Hl-C'lliilll 

rostiiiutos.  views  are  more  nearl}'  related  to  each  other  than 
is  either  of  them  to  the  Logos-Christology.  Both 
defend  the  redemptive  historical  view  of  llie  Person 
of  Christ,  as  against  the  naturalistic  historical,  and 
often  pass  from  into  each  other  (as  to  Beryllus  one 


I  i 


^mmmmsmmmm-- 


0, 

lU'O 

(n;t 
dvY 
out 
it>(l 
the 
^m. 
ian 
laii 
oth 
son 
111(1 
one 


Noi'tus. 


TIIK    LAYlNCi    OK   TIIK    KOlNPATIoN.  1.!) 

can  (lucstion  whcllici-  lie  was  an  adoptionist  or  a 
niodalist;  in  the  wiitinj^s  of  Origon  not  a  few  )>as- 
sai^cs  leave  us  in  doubt  whieli  party  ho  is  contcndijip^ 
against;  tho  conii)roniiso  fornnda  of  Calixtus  is  alM) 
varioj^atfd).  Tlie  siinpKst  form  of  modaliMu  is  rep- 
resented l)y  No<"'tus  (see  llippolytus) :  (Christ  is  the 
Father  himself,  who  was  horn  and  died.  If  Chiist 
is  not  tlie  Fnth(»r,  tlien  is  he  not  (jod.  Next  lo  tiie 
monotheistic  interest  (ojjponents  were  called  o.'/:":) 
was  the  interest  in  the  full  Divinity  of  ClnMst  {(/''txhu- 

«T'.>  t7f»'.<TTn'^    4  va  »'/;'/> — 7!  (!">/'//.>  ~ii'.u)  t)ii~i/'^(try  r-v    \  n'.rfzi'i'/ 

xa:  rsoxjui  rjia^  (loyr^'if).  Scripture  evi(lenc(»  was  Ex. 
;!:  0;  -H):  2  scq  ;  Isa.  41:  C;  lo:  5,  H;  Baruch  :J : 
:U);  Jno.  10:  :U»;  11:  S  .srr/.-  Rom.  ii:");  theJohan- 
nean  Gospel  was  recognized;  but  hixr^.r^^  ii.bj  y^yzt 
/.i>Y„y^  a).A    tuliDi  a).).r,Yi>iiii.     The   Conception  "Logos" 

SpiiciUu- 

was    rigidlv    reiected.      8i>eculatively    the    idea    of  tivci-i.-aof 

'^^        ^  •'  ^  "^  God. 

God  is  grounded  (in  Kleomenes)  upon  the  thought 
that  God  is  invisible  if  he  wishes,  visible  however 
when  he  permits  himself  to  be  seen;  intangible  when 
he  does  not  wish  to  be  touched,  tangible  when 
ho  presents  himself  to  bo  touched;  unbegotten 
and  begotten;  mortal  and  immortal  (old  Churcii 
fornudas  justified  by  the  stoic  idea  of  God).  I'ho 
Father  so  far  as  he  deigned  to  be  born  is  the  Son; 
both  are  therefore  only  noiniuaUfi  to  be  distin- 
guished; but  the  distinction  is  also  an  historical,  re- 
dem})tive  one.  In  favor  of  the  identity  they  called 
to  miud  the  Old  Testament  theophanies.     That  they 


t: 


i 


V 


\ 


IJM 


n 


i  i 


:  I. 


Old  Niiivc 

M'Hl.'ilisiii 

llcvivcd. 


InO      orriJNKs  OK  THI-:  history  ok  i)0{;ma. 

after  the  maiinor  of  tlic  stoics  altrihutcd  to  the  fjod- 
lioad  itself  tlic  ("Icnioiit  of  tiiiiteiicss  caiiiiot  \)v  proven. 
It  is  tii(M)l(l  nilivo  niodalisni,  whicli  is  hen- exalted 
to  a  theory  (oth(T\vise,  ol)sorve  that  all  early  Chris- 
tian writers,  who  W(»ro  not  philosophieal,  knew  only 
o//r  birth  of  th(>  Son,  that  from  the  virgin).  The 
theory  was  wrecked  in  this,  that  in  tlie  rilos])ols 
withont  donht  two  subjects  (Father  and  Son)  are 
pr(»su])posed.  However  the  modalists  hardh'  de- 
clared nnc^cpiivocally :  The  Father  snffenMl ;  they 
said,  tlu»  Son,  who  sntVered,  is  identical  with  the 
Father  (bishoj*  Zei)hyriinis :  ly^*  "''''^t  '=■'■""■  •'';">  \/'.'^r.-y 

/refill' .1  y.ii.'.  ;://>  (ivrir>  izijia  irin^'/a  ^r^r^r"/  xu'.    T.aih'ir^^  luit : 

r*-"y  <;  -iL7i^p  n~l<i<L\,z-^^  I'llhl  o  'Kii<).  ^forc  coni})! icatcd  is 
rnixras.  the  doctrine  of  "  Praxeas ''  and  the  formulas  of  Ca- 
lixtus;  they  indicate  a  trac(^  of  th(>  difticulties: 
"Logos"  is  no  sul)stance,  it  is  nothiuii;  else  than 
sound  and  word.  Praxeas,  in  tendency  and  in  Scri})- 
ture  argument  at  oni^  with  Noi'tus,  made,  however, 
a  clearer  distinction  between  the  Father  and  the  Son  : 
God  through  the  assumption  of  the  Hesh  made  him- 
self into  the  *So^^-  ihe  jlcnh  nidkrs  the  Fa  flier  hi  to 
the  Son,  i.e.  in  the  Person  of  the  Redeemer  the  flesh 
(the  man  Jesus)  is  the  Son,  the  Spirit  (God,  Christ) 
is  the  FathcH'  (citation  of  Luke  1  :  :}")).  That  trhich 
was  horn  is  the  Son;  the  Si)irit  (God)  could  not  suf- 
fer; so  far  as  he  entered  into  the  flesh  he  shared  the 
M.Miaiisin  suffering' ("  y>^^/c/"  connxissns  c.s7  /i/io"").  vVs  soon 
■^'ism',""  :i«  tlu^  distinguishing  of  <<tro  (Jih'ns)  and  ,s])/rifns 
{ j)nt('r)  was  taken   strictly   modalism   ])asses   over 


111  % 


)iit : 
ilis 
Ca- 
ios: 

laii 

•ip- 

oil : 

im- 

)tfo 

esli 

ist) 

ich 

iif- 

the 

Don 

his 

vvv 


THK    r.AVIN(J    (»K   TIIF    F<  UNDATION. 


ISl 


into  Ji(l(Ji)tionisin.  Tliis  took  place  in  |»ai-t  ihioiigli 
Calixtiis,  who  in  lii^  foniiula  of  reconciliation  ac- 
('ei)te(l  the  Lot;-os  (i>nt  as  adesiijnation  of  the  KathiT 
also)  and  an  adoption  element  (this  Hipjiolytiis  has 
well  ohserved),  hnt  l»y  means  of  it  actnally  trans- 
ferred the  faith  of  the  Roman  church  to  the  Lol;()S- 
Cliristolo;^y,  and  to  the  physico-deilicalion  doctrine — 
excommnnicatint^  his  olil  friend  Sahellins.  Vet  the 
^iiostical  snhordinationism  of  Tertnllian  and  Hippo-  F<iimiiu. 
lytiis  coiild  ncrrr  ^ain  acceptance  ///  Rome  (C'alix- 
tlls'  formula:  ''>  f-oy'-'  anr')'^  i:>'/f  oiir/^  a'')'r<'''^  xn]  rur'/xi 
(stoic  /''^"s*- '*'*'' v)  ^•"■'-  ~u7-iia  ii/nnun  ii.iv  xa^ji'i/ievoy^  tV  f7c 
<'v  r<)  ~'yt''f).a  an'.a'iicriiv  •  n'l/.  ti/./.n  i]>ai  ~ar^/tu^  ii)J.n  »);  u't<>v^ 
i'y  oj  xa\  Zn  a'>T)  ''TTfif)^:'./'  X't'.  T'l.  irnwzn  y'ih'.^  rir>  f'fiim) 
7:'/e'\aaT(i^  zii.  rr  w^ut  xai  xurvf  xa\  e]'^a'.  r'\  -Iv  rrj  7:a/i>h!vfi} 
(Tai)xu»'f~'y  z'^e'i/ia  n'ty  izznn'^  -rafni  r''>  ~ar'i)a^  i).)JA  iv  xa\  T(< 
ii'izi't.  I\(i:  Tii'tZn  ^'yui  7/  £:o7j//.;V()>  •  Jiio.  li:  11,  yV,  fitv 
yon  /J/srro/iCx/v  <'~:i>  iTrr^  a'/i^/iiozii'^  r</"<7«*  exit  Znv  olov 
Zn  o:  ;>  Z(p  D'.iij  y(i»in^>'t !>  rr>i''//a  zirizo  £;>'/{  z^v  7:az'fia  ■  on 
y"/'i  ^^i'^'-'^i  -(""^  ''"'  '''^"''v  ~tizliin  XIV.  o:')v^  a).K  i\>it.  f)  yo/t 
iw  a'izw  yz/<>,'i.:'/(i^'  -azy'n  r:<iiiT).fii'inij.;-/ii^'  r/^y  <T'/ftxa  i>'l:<i~i>:7^iTtv 
IvOKTw^  Id'jzu)^  x(L'.  Ir.it'.y^nz'^  cv^  u)^  xiu.z'.nihn  -(Lz'.na  xiv.  oViv 
i\>a  f'f;i'i>  XIV.  zi>'>zi>  i>  ">  ~iii'/(T(i>r:ir^  n:/^  O'lyuirHai  i]'^ai  ilno 
xai  ()  .'Twv   T'"-v   ■razifKi  aoiir.zr.iv^i^ i/iv.    zih  nlih  •    !>•>    yuf)    f^iXzt 

Certain  is  it  that  the  learned  and  influential  Xova-      v\u^^' 
tiaii  (r/c  fninf.)  did  much  toward  bringing  about   Ai.un.ioued 
the  final  abandonment  of  the  Logos-Christology  in    Occident. 
the  Occident.     About  the  year  '^'CO  the  Roman  bis- 
hop DionysiuS  wrote  :    -afl.'V.tn^^  [l).a(T(fr,!J.z'.^  anzow  Tov  ul')-^ 


i; 


<i : 


..r 


.i  ,  '   U 


^' 


i.t 


'ill 


fi  ''i  'fil 
'if 


Mr''-, 
1 1  II 


■■  1' 


i 


18SJ       Ol  TMNKS   OK  TIIK    IIISTOIJV    nK    IKHiMA. 

ctvat  I'ymj  r.>  r.ar'.im^  ('ypriaii  mjirkcd  pal I'ipa.ssiaii- 
iHin  as  a  ix'stilmtial  Iiorcsy  lik(»  Marcionitism,  and  lu» 
liiiiircir  sIm»V((1  into  a  socond  recension  of  the  Kninaii 
syn»l)(»l  (A(iiiileja)  tiie  phrase :"  f '/vv/o  ///  Jrn  jufhc 
nmnipolnifc,  iinisihili <-f  iin/Kissihi/i" .  However, 
tlie  liOj^os-Christoloj^y  liad  never  i'oinid  a  eoii^'etiial 
soil  in  tile  ( )('eident ;  men  lei  it  pass,  l)ut  they  lieltl 
inueii  inoreiirinly — in  tins  there  was  a  real  inten'st — 
to  tin;  article  of  faith:  Christ  is  true,  complete  ( {od, 
ami  there  is  oidy  onr  (lod.  Tliis  attitude  of  tlie  Oc- 
cident became  of  most  decisive  sij^Jiificance  in  the 
Arian  controversy:  The  I*Nict»ne  doctrine  is,  not  as  a 
j)hiloso]»hical  speculation,  hut  as  the  direct,  symboli- 
cal faith,  as  much  the  jn-operty  of  the  Occidental 
church  of  the  third  century,  as  the  Ohalcedon  doctrine. 
Accordingly  many  Occidental  t{>acbers,  who  W(»ro 
not  influenced  by  Plato  and  the  ()ri(?nt,  used  in 
the  third  and  fourth  centuries  modalistic  formulas 
Occidental  witliout  hesitation,  abovc^  all  Commodian.  The  tlie- 
August iuc.  ^^<^»y  ^jf  ^^^^  Occident  until  Augustine  shows  in  gen- 
eral a  mingling  of  Ciceronian  morality,  massive, 
primitive  Christian  eschatology,  and  unreflecting 
Christolog}'  with  more  or  less  latent  modalism  {oiu^ 
God  in  the  strictest  sense;  Christ  God  and  man) 
and  practical  Church  politics  (penitential  institute), 
which  is  wholly  fV)reign  to  the  Orient  (Arnobius, 
Lactantius,  Commodian).  They  were  no  mystics, 
in  part  opponents  of  Neo-Platonism.  How  hard  it 
would  have  been  for  them  to  make  themselves  at 
home  in  the  speculatit)us  of  the  Orient  is  indicated 


.,.kJL^  Mm^^a^^^ 


TIIK    l,ANIN(i    (»!<•    IIIK    KoiNDATFoN, 


IS.} 


> 

an) 
te), 
us, 
cs, 
it 
at 
ted 


l)y  tluMMior^ctic,  l»ut  .'ilxtrtivr  alirm|»t  of  1 1  ilariiis  and 
the  tlu'olooical  Itarharisiii  of  Lucifer.  It  is  well 
iiiulcrstood  tliat  inodMlisin  did  not  coiitinui'  in  tlio 
( Hridcnt  as  a  strt,  so  loiij^;  as  in  the  ( Orient ;  it  fonnd 
in  llic  latter,  even  in  tlie  prevailin*^  form  of  teacliin}^ 
es|)eeially  wIkm'c  the  IjOj^os  was  accepted,  a  shelter. 

(h)    The   aeconnts   of   the   oh/   iiKKlnlisni    in    tli<'  <>i.i  M<Kiai- 

JHiii  ill 

Orient  are  very  turhid;  for  suhse((nently  everythiiij^*  ^'■'^'"«- 
is  called  "  Salx'llianisni",  which  ixjrtains  to  the  eter- 
nal and  endiiiinj^'  hypostasis  of  the  Son  (r.f/.  ^larcel- 
1ns'  doctrine  ).  Ahcady  in  the  third  century  in  i\w 
Orient  speculntion  concerning  the  modalistic  theses 
incri'ased  |.;i'eatly  and  was  carried  out  into  manifold 
forms,  and  the  historians  of  tlu;  movement  (Kpipha- 
nius,  Athanasius,  etc.)  a<ld  thereto  still  other  discov- 
ered forms.     Just  as  one  can  write  no  history  of  the    ii»pf>s«ii'>" 

♦^  to  Wnti' 

Logos-Christology  in   the   Orient    from    Origen   to  "'rJiunsm' 

Athanasius — the    sources   have   been   destroyed — so 

also  one  can  write  no  history  of  modalism.     It  is 

certain  that  the  contest  began  later  in  the  Orient, 

but  it  was  more  passionate  and  enduring  and  K'd  to 

the  development  (^f  the  Origenistic  Christology  in 

the  direction  of  Arianism  (also  antithetic).     The  first 

great  agitation  took  place   ir.   tiu;   Pentapolis,  after 

that  Origen  combated  the  "  singular "  modalists   as 

Christian   brethren    and   sharply   criticised   bishops 

(Roman),  who  made  the  distinction  between  Father 

and  Son  merely  nominal  (the  condemnation  of  Origen 

at  Rome  under  Pontianus  may  also  have  had  reference 

to  his  Christology).     Perhaps  Sabellius  himself  near 


in  Orient. 


!i 


\ 


■■  1! 


Ik 


fii 


I'  i 


■''f 


i 


! 


i^ 


i 


Ml 


OITMNKS   <»K   THK    IIISTOKV    f»F   T)m;MA 


DiIctHnr        ^'"'    •''''    "'      '''"^    '""'   ^^'"'"^     (ili;;i  ill?)     l|n|n     lvn|||(>    into 

llic  IN'iita|H»lis.  Ili'was  jilrcady  dead  wlicii  J)i(»ii3'- 
sius  <»f'  Alexandria  ('(iinljatt'd  Salx'llianisiu  tliciv. 
He  is  t  »  Ix'  disliiii^iiislied  Inmi  Noi'tus  hy  Ids  inon' 
('arclid  tlu'oloi^ical  drdiictions  and  hy  his  regard  for 
the  Holy  Spirit:  To  one  iM-iiij^  arc  attached  three 
names  (Kathcf,  Son,  and  Spirit),  otherwise  polythe- 
ism would  he  estaliii- 111  d  ;  tlu^  three  names  are  at  tlie 
same  time  three  ciicn/ir.s.  The  one  Hein|4'  is  to  bo 
called  ":"""*'"/' — a  dcsiii^nation  lor  the  hein^;'  (»f  (Jod 
himself.  lloW(?ver  this  l>i'in<^  is  not  at  the  same 
moment  Father  and  Son,  but  in  thr»'o  consecutive,  in- 
terchanging energies  (prosopons)  he  acts  as  Creator 
and  Law-giver,  as  Kedeemer,  as  Quickener  (tlirough 
this  teaching  the  conception  "  Prosopon  ",  "Person" 
became  discredited  in  the  Orient).  Whether  it  was 
possible  for  Sabellius  to  carry  through  the  thought  of 
strict  succession,  wo.  do  not  know.  Perhaj)s  he  still 
permitted  the  Prosopon  of  the  Fatlu^r  to  continue 
uctive  (the  Sabellians  fell  back  ujion  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures,  but  also  upon  the  Gosi)el  to  the 
Egyptians  and  other  apocrypha — a  proof  that  the 
Catholic  canon  had  not  yet  established  itself  in  tho 
Pentapolis).  This  distinguished  itself  from  the  ear- 
lier modalism,  not  by  a  stronger  pantheistic  tendency, 
nor  by  a  new  doctrine  of  the  trinity  (both  came 
thereto  first  later  in  the  fourth  century,  if  the  modi- 
fications were  not  introduced  by  the  historians),  but 
by  the  attempt  to  explain  the  succession  of  the  Pro- 
sopons, by  the  attention  given  to  the  Holy  Spirit  (see 


Sal)t'l!iai)s 

Aililiico 
O.  T.,  (Jus- 

jii'l  ti) 
EK'vptiaus, 

t'tC. 


THK    I.AVIN'C    OK   TIIK    K  Jl' ND  ATloN. 


isr» 


of 

ill 

line 


'ar- 

mo 
.di- 

Iro- 
see 


;ili()Vr)  ami   Ity  lln'  (IiMwin;^-  nt   a  I'Mrin.il  |iai;illrl  l»«'- 

twcoii  tlir  l*n»s»ij»«»ii  of  llic   Katlicr  and  tlic  twu  otiuT 

Prosopniis,  wldcli    iiid«'«'d  tclidrd  toward   tin-  accrjit- 

aiu'o  of  H /i»v'/v-A''/'<'v  l)a('k  of  tlic  l*ro>o|)on  {T-hrridf^  and 

7:karonii.n^)^  who   iicViT    rcVi-als   luiiisi'lf,    lull    Ih'coIIU'H 

known  only  tliroiii;li  his  activity  (this  view  is  favored 

by  Sc'ldeionnach*  r,  Thcol.  /tschr.  is-.>-.>  jj.  :;).     (*<.s-    sui-iuan. 
*^  isiii  I'll- 

moloj^y  is  introduced  hy  Sahcllius  as  a  i)arall(l  t(»  j ,',','. '"'y,^iyj',? 
Hotorioloj^y,  without  the  prefeicnce  hciui;  ^^iviii  to  Tms. 
the  Knther,  and  therehy  in  a  jteculiiir  nianni'r  the 
way  was  |)re[)ared  for  i\iv  A UnnKisiidi  ClnisfohK/j/^ 
i.e.  iUv  AuL^ustinian.  This  is  the  decisive  signifi- 
cance of  Sahellianisni  in  the  Oi'ient.  It  jjrepareil 
there  the  way  for  the  '''iwonnm^'^  for  tiiatthe  Sahelliaiis 
made  use  of  this  word  (on  the  other  hand  also  I'anl 
of  Samosata)  is  dear.  While  within  modalism  there 
was  hitherto  no  firm  connection  between  cosmology 
and  soteviology,  nnder  the  later  Sahellianisni  tlio 
history  of  the  world  and  of  redeni})tion  became  (me 
history  of  th(>  self -revealing  God;  this  became  of 
ecjual  rank  with  the  Ix)gos-C^liristology.  In  different 
ways  Marcellus  and  Athaiiasius  sought  to  reconcile 
the  main  lu'inciples  of  modalism  and  the  Logos- 
Christology:  The  former  failed,  the  latter  succeeded 
in  that  he  almost  entirely  excluded  the  world-idea 
from  the  Logos-idea,  i,<\  restored  the  Logos  (as  the 
Sabellians  the  olo^)^  to  the  being,  yes,  to  tiie  numerical 
unity  of  God. 

(c)  History   of  On'enUd  theology  until  the  he-    ^^^l^ 
ginning  of  the  fourth  century. — The  next  conse- 


ii: 


} 


IP 

i 


to  400. 


«y 


":»; 


ISn        Ol'TIJNES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF  DO(JMA. 


'   ? 


Alexan- 
drians 
Submit  to 
Rome. 


Contro- 
verHy  Pre- 
lude to 
Ariau. 


(jiieiKH?  of  Tiiodalism  was  tliat  tlic  followors  of  Origen 
gave  to  tlio  Logos-Christolog}' a  strong  subordination 
cast.  Dionysius  of  Alexandria  went  so  far  as  to  set 
fortli  in  a  doctrinal  letter  the  Son  simply  as  a  crea- 
tion, which  iji  related  to  the  Father  as  the  vine  to  the 
gardener  and  as  the  boat  to  the  builder  (Atliana- 
sius,  (fe  scntent.  Diouy.).  He  was  denounced  by  his 
R<jman  colleague  of  the  same  name  (about  20(1);  \he 
latter  published  a  warning,  in  which  he  very  charac- 
teristically branded  modalism  as  aluTcsy;  first,  on 
the  ground  of  its  affinity  with  the  Cliristology  then 
current  in  Alexandria,  which  ho  however  totally 
misunderstood  and  represented  in  its  coarsest  form ; 
second,  on  account  of  its  tritheism.  And  v/ithout 
any  adjustment,  he  proclaimed  the  paradox,  that 
one  must  believe  in  the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  and 
these  three  are  at  the  same  time  one.  The  Alexan- 
drian college,  presenting  now  the  other  side  of  the 
Urigenistic  Christology,  humbly  submitting,  ex- 
plained that  it  had  nothing  against  the  word  'v^""''^- 
<7f'^•;  the  Father  was  always  Father,  the  Son  always 
Son,  and  the  latter  is  related  to  the  former  as  the 
beam  is  to  the  light,  the  stream  to  the  fountain ;  they 
even  went  farther  and  explained  that  in  the  very 
designation  "Father"  the  Son  is  included;  but  in 
the  diplomatic  writing  the  bishop  allowed  himself  a 
mental  reservation ;  he  would  have  been  obliged  to 
set  aside  the  Neo-Platonic  philosophy,  i.e.  science, 
if  he  had  rejected  every  iiepKriw^  in  the  Godhead.  This 
controversy  was  a  prelude  to  the  Arian,  it  ended 


tho 
bey 
-ery 
in 
Ufa 
to 
ce, 
'bis 
ided 


THE  LAVIXd  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


isr 


quickly  and  its  cubniuatioii  did  not  iXMiuiro  tbc  Alex- 
andrians to  restrict  tbeir  speculations.  Tbey  were 
besides  also  very  anxious  U)  re])lace  tbe  old  sini[)le 
faitli  in  tbe  cburcbes  (wben  it  became  inconvenient) 
by  tbe  pbilosopbical  (Dionysius  labored  in  Egyjjtian 
villages  against  cbiliasni;  liis  oi)ponent  was  Nepos; 
Euseb.,  11.  E.  VII,  -M,  '^^■i),  but  at  tbe  same  time  to 
refute'  tbe  empirical  pbilos(jpliy  (l)ionysius'  Tract 
on  nature  against  tbe  atomic  tbeory).  Tbe  Logos- 
and  Cbristus-doctrine  was  worked  out  by  tbe  leaders 
of  tbe  catecbetical  scbool  in  tbe  spirit  of  Origen 
(finer  i)bilosopbical  polytbeism) ;  but  out  of  tbe  C(jm- 
prebensivc  literature  we  bave  only  insignitlcant  frag- 
ments :  Pierius,  tbe  junior  of  Origen,  expressl\'  (le;iig- 
nated  llio  Fatbor  and  Logos  as  two  cVraj  and  two 
(f'xrti'i  and  subordinated  llie  Holy  Si)irit  very  greatly 
to  tbe  Son,  as  tbe  lbi)-d  <>'>aia.  He  tauglit  tbe  pre- 
existcnce  of  souls  and  contested  tbe  verbal  sense  of 
some  Scripture  passages  as  not  autboritative.  Tbe- 
ognostus  (in  tbe  time  of  Diocletian)  composed  a  com- 
]irebensive  dogmatic  work,  wbicli  as  a  system  sur- 
passed tbat  of  Origen  and  bad  a  foi-m  tbat  bas  been 
in  use  until  to-da5\  lie  moreover  developed  Origen - 
ism  in  tbe  direction  of  Arius.  x\notber  Origenist, 
Hierakas,  establisbed  an  order  of  moidcs,  in  wbose 
celibacy  bo  saw  somotbing  new  in  Cbristian  etbics 
and,  as  it  seems,  empbasized  more  strong!}-  tbe  sub- 
stantial unitv  of  the  Fatber  and  Son.  At  all  events 
Peter  (f  as  martyr  oil),  bisbop  of  Alexandria,  did 
this.     In  bim    tbe   Alexandrian    bisbop   again   in- 


The- 

opiiostus 
Dfvcloiis 
Orij^cnisui 
in   Direc- 
tion  of 
Ariauism. 


Peter, 


ill 


"i 


,i 


i  fl 


-t-    i 


!  i. 


I        t 


i '' 


188       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP   DOr,MA. 


<i   4' 


..■i 


1 


If  MS 


.1  I 


i-  >.i 


■ 


II    ) 


I    r 


Il:i 


UMi- 


clined  toward  tlie  views  of  tlio  Domotrius,  who  had 
condomned  Origoii.  Under  wliat  eireuiiistanees  this 
hapi)ened  is  unkiiowii.  But  from  his  extant  writ- 
ings it  is  elear  that  he  substituted  IJililical  realism 
(history  of  the  creation  and  the  fall)  for  the  Ori- 
genistic  spiritualism  and  designated  this  as  imfhina 
ri,^^ ' i:).h,.>ix7,>i  -atth{u<i\  Yet  this  reaction  on  the  part 
of  Peter  was  still  not  a  radical  one;  he  only  rounded 
off  the  points;  he  began  in  Alexandria  the  adjiist- 
Dtent  between  the  realistic  faith  of  the  simple-minded 
and  the  scientific  faith,  by  means  of  subtractions  and 
additions :  That  which  was  before  his  mind  was  a 
concordant  faith  which  should  bo  at  the  same  time 
ecclesiastical  and  scientific.  But  the  time  for  this 
was  not  yet  at  hand  (see  the  Cappadocians) ;  freedom 
still  ruled  in  theology,  which  latter,  it  is  true,  was 
pushing  on  toward  its  complete  secularization  and 
submersion.  Already  every  future  conception  was 
current ;  but  there  was  wanting  as  yet  a  definite 
statement  of  them  and  a  fixed  value  *,  yes,  they  were 
looked  upon  as  unbiblical,  by  many  still  as  suspicious, 
^'hfumr  The  state  of  the  doctrine  of  faith  is  best  reflected 
turgus.  .^^  ^j^^  works  of  Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  the  en- 
thusiastic  pupil    of    Origen,    the    most    influential 

*  Thus  /lovac,  Tpiri(;,  nlaia,  <pl'(7/r^  I'TTOKFi/avm',  vTrdaraa/c,  TrpdauKOv, 
7repi}im(prf,  inpiCft!^^ni^  diatju'iv,  irhirvvFiv,  (Tv-} Ktipa? aiom&ai,  KT^eiv, 
TTOiEiv^  yiyveax^ni,  ytvi'di^  uunobennr;,  h  r/'/c  oiving  mv  znTftu^^  6ia  tov 
^n^.f/ftarog,  i^cof  ek  &t:ov,  ^wf  t'/c  ipuror^  j  Evvfp'^h'-n  dv  :Ttn?/-&EVTa,  fjv  ote 
ovK  fjv,  oi'K  i)v  OTE  ovK  7/1',  ETFpoc  kot'  ovolav,  aTpETTToc,  ava?.?.oio)Tng , 
a}EVVJ]Tog,  d?.?.6Tpio^,  T^TiV  "'/:,'  '^toryjToq^  6vo  ovaiai,  ovaia  ovauofiEvr/, 
Evdv^fMoTy/a/i;,  i^toi'i^^xjrof,  evuc:^  ()vaiwh]<;^  ivuciq  Kara  /uETuvaiav, 
GVfdijyEia  Kara  fidi)>/aiv  Kul  fitrovaiav^  avyKpdai^  evoikeIv,  etc. 


THE  LAYING  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


189 


en- 
itial 

[DTTOV, 

/'Ce/v, 
t  roil 
V  ore 
urng, 

aiav, 


theologian  in  Asia  Minor.  One  sees  here  that  the 
"  scientific  "  itself  trembled  bef(;re  the  fine  pol^'theism 
which  it  introduced,  and  farther  that  Christology 
became  pure  philosophy  :  Thi>  symbol  which  Gregory 
disseminated  among  the  churches  hardly  corresponded 
in  a  single  sentence  with  the  Biblical  statements;  it 
is  a  compendium  of  the  i)urest  speculations,  recall- 
ing the  Gospel  onl\'  in  the  words,  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit.  Therein  Christian  faith  was  expected  to  rec- 
ognize itself  once  more ! 

No  wonder  that  a  reaction  set  in,  if  indeed  a  tame  R<^action; 
one.  By  the  side  of  Peter  of  Alexandria  there  ap- 
peared here  and  there  in  the  Orient  about  the  year 
oOO  opponents  of  ( )rigen  who  compelled  those  who 
still  honored  him  to  come  to  his  defence.  The  most 
significant  and  influential  of  these  opponents  was 
Methodius  (about  ;](>()).  He  was  no  eneni}-  of  Plato 
and  of  speculation — (piite  the  contrary ;  but  he  wished 
to  harmonize  the  Biblical  realism  and  the  verbal 
sense  of  the  rule  of  faith  with  science — a  new  Ire- 
njBus,  he  wanted  a  consistent  faith  whicli  would  be 
purely  ecclesiastical  and  ])U rely  scientific.  Moreover 
all  the  heretical  i)oints  of  Urigenism  nuist  be  rcnmded  ^.V^rTT 

*  *='  Modified. 

off,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  be  thereby  introduced 
in  this  form  into  the  ecclesiastical  faith  {spcculaiire 
realism;  Methodius  had  read  Irena^us).  Above  all 
the  pessimism  of  (^rigen  as  regards  the  world  (with- 
in the  cosmolog}')  must  be  set  aside :  Matter  and  the 
human  b(Kly  were  approved  by  God  and  will  there- 
fore be  glorified  and  remain  eternal.     In  accordance 


"i 


I    ' 


h 


,:  I 


S 


)r 


\- 


r 

!     ; 
1 

'■ 

I 

I          ^ 

1 

tl 

1 

mLi 

nji! 


LJli 


'" 


100        OUTLINES   OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    DOGMA. 

with  tliis  tlio  Oragv^nistic  tcarhing  roTirorning  tho 
otcriuil  creation  of  s}»irits,  concorniiiL;  tlio  fall  in  a 
prc-exi.st(Mit  state,  concerning  the  character  and  pur- 
pose of  the  world,  etc.,  were  sot  aside.  In  the  i^ace 
of  the  same  the  ?y///-s7 /co-realistic  teaching  of  Irenreus 
concerning  Adam  (mankind)  was  reintroduced,  but 
was  still  more  mystically  developed  and  brought  into 
an  alliance  with  the  recapitulation-theor}'.  Man- 
kind before  Clirist  was  Adam  (in  need  of  redemption, 
but  in  the  condition  of  children).  Throngh  tho 
second  Adam  the  Logos  unites  himself  with  us.     But 

^s?'t'oi"i^  Methodius  went  a  step  farther;  the  new  mankind 
as  a  whole  is  the  second  Adam.  Every  one  should 
become  Christ,  inasmuch  as  the  Logos  unites  itself 
with  every  soul  as  with  Christ  (tlie  descent  of  the 
Logos  from  heaven  and  his  death  must  be  rei)eated 
for  every  soul — namely  within).  This  comes  to  pass 
not  so  much  through  knowledge  as  through  virginity 
and  ascetism.     The  theoretic  optimism  was  also  bal- 

Extn'ino    aucod  bv  tlio  renunciatiou  of  the  world  ex])ressed  in 

Hctrani  tor  *'  '■ 

\ iiKiiuty.  vii-gii^ity,  1^0  ecclesiastic  before  Methodius  had  so 
prized  virginitj^  as  he,  so  prized  it  as  a  means  of 
mystic  union  with  the  Godhead  (virginity  is  tho 
end  of  the  incarnation).  In  that  the  realism  of  tho 
doctrine  of  faith  was  here  bound  up  with  the  Origen- 
istic  speculation,  the  two-foldncss  of  faith  and  the 
science  of  faith  reduced  t(^  one,  theoretical  optimism 
(as  regards  the  sensuous  world)  joined  to  the  practi- 
cal renunciation  of  the  world,  and  everything  mado 
dependent  upon  the  mystic  union  with  the  Godhead 


l(i. 


THE  LAYINO  OF  THE  FOUNDATION. 


191 


lity 
al- 
iii 
so 
of 
tho 
tho 
en- 
tile 
sin 
ti- 
de 
ad 


without  a  denial  of  tlu^  objective  significance  of 
Christ  as  the  Redeemer  (although  this  is  pushed 
into  the  back-ground),  the  dogmatics  of  the  future 
in  its  main  outlines  triumphed. 

That   which    ]\Iethodius   had  done  for   dogmatics  ^'"f,'.-^;,?"*^' 
as  developed  doctrine,   the    bishops    did   about    the    'hui.'o" 
year  ;}0()  for  the  rule  t)f  faith,  in  so  far  as  they  in- 
troduced the   scientific   Logos-doctrine  into  the  in- 
structional symbol,  thereby  neutralizing  the   distinc 
tion   between   faith    and    scientific    dogmatics  and 
placing  the  chief  contribution  of  Hellenic  speculation 
under  the  protection  of  the  apostolic  tradition.     Tlie 
Oriental  symbols  of  this  time  (symbol  of  CVrsarea, 
of  Alexandria,  of  the  six  bishops  against   Paul,  of 
Gregory   Thaumaturgus,  etc.)  ])ut   themselves   for- 
ward  as   the   incontestiblo   apostolic  faith   of   the 
Church  and  are  the  j)hilosophical   constructions   of 
the  rule  of  faith :  The  e.vccicti cat-speculative  iheoto-    Exp^'tic- 

al  Sptvu- 

qu  was  introduced  iuto  faith  itsetf.  This  came  •'i''/*' 
to  pass  through  the  Logos-d(x*trine;  the  dogma  was  ^'i''^*''- 
now  found  and  established.  A  divine  Being  has 
actualljj  appeared  upon  the  earth,  and  his  appear- 
ance is  the  key  to  cosmology  and  soteriology.  How- 
ever, these  fundamental  theses  were  acc('j)ted  only 
in  the  widest  circles.  But  men  could  not  rest  with 
this,  so  long  as  it  was  not  definitely  determined  Jioir 
the  diA'ine  Being,  who  has  a])p(>ared  ui)on  tlx'  eai-th, 
is  related  to  the  higliest  Divinity.  Is  the  divine 
Being  who  lias  apjx'ared  upon  tlie  earth  the  Divinit}' 
himself,   or  is  he  a  subordinate,   second   Divinity? 


I 


N 
B 


ii 


•  • 


t  .i/s 


r' 


102       OUTLINES  OF   THK   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

Are  WG  redeemed  by  God  himself  unto  God,  or  do  we 
Istand  also  in  the  Christian  religion  only  in  a  cosmic 
system,  and  is  our  Redeemer  only  the  subordinate 
God  who  is  at  work  in  the  world? 


..  i  '■  I 


'!'      !f       I 


part  2. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  DOCMA. 


BOOK  I. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  DOGMA  AS 
DOCTRINE  OF  THE  GOD-MAN  UPON  THE 
BASIS  OF  NATURAL  THEOLOGY. 


I 


CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORICAL    SURVEY. 

Walsch,  Entw.  einer  voUst.  Historic  der  Ketzereien, 
1702  ff.  Hefelo,  Concilieugosch.  3.  Autt.,  Bd.  I-IV.  His- 
toiies  of  the  Roman  Empire,  by  Tillemont,  Gibbon,  and 
Ranke.  Reville,  Die  Religion  z.  Rom.  unter  den  Severern 
(German  by  Krueger,  1888).  Dorner,  Entw.  Gesch.  d.  L.  v. 
d.  Person  Christi,  1845.  H.  Schultz,  Die  L.  v.  d.  Gottheit 
Christi,  1881,  Gass,  Symbolik  d.  griech.  Kirche,  1873.  Den- 
zinger,  Ritus  Orientalium,  3  Bdd. ,  1803  f. 

THE  Christian  religion  in  the  3d  century  made  ^'n^y.J^oi^ 
no  compromise  with  any  of  the  pagan  relig- 
ions and  kept  far  away  from  the  numerous  intersec- 
tions out  of  which,  under  the  influence  of  the  mono- 
theistic philosophy  of  religion,  a  new  religiousness 
developed  itself.  But  the  spirit  of  this  religiousness 
entered  into  the  Church  and  produced  forms  of  ex- 
pression in  doctrine  and  cultus  to  correspond  with 
itself.  The  testament  of  primitive  Christianity — the 
Holy  Scriptures — and  the  testament  of  antiquity — 


inusn<'ss 

KntfTs 

L'lmicli. 


il  i 


1^ 


13 


193 


.  1    i 


h'l 


1,, 


■>  I 


rjiuroh 
I>i)ctiinp 
HccniiK's 
MysU-ry. 


Doctrine, 
Polity,  and 
C'ultus  Re- 
ferred to 
Apostles. 


104        OI^TTJNKS   OF   THK   HISTORY    OK   DOCiMA. 

the  Now-Platonic  speculation — were  by  the  entl  of 
the  3d  century  intimately  and,  as  it  seemed,  insep- 
arably united  in  the  great  churches  of  the  East. 
Through  the  acceptance  of  the  Logos-Christology  Jis 
the  central  dogma  of  the  Chtorh,  the  Church  doctrine 
was,  oven  for  the  laity,  firmly  rooted  in  the  soil  of 
Hellenism.  Tliereb}'  it  became  a  mystery  to  the 
great  majority  of  Christians.  But  mysteries  were 
even  sought  after.  Not  the  freshness  and  clearness 
of  a  religion  attracted  men — there  must  needs  be 
something  refined  and  complicated,  a  structure  in 
Barrcxpie  style,  to  content  those  who  at  that  time 
wished  to  have  all  the  idealistic  instincts  of  their 
nature  satisfied  in  religion.  United  with  this  desire 
was  the  greatest  reverence  fcjr  all  traditions,  a  senti- 
ment peculiar  to  epochs  of  restoration.  But,  as  al- 
ways, the  old  became  now  by  conservation  and  the 
new  was  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  old. 
What  the  Church  utilized  in  doctrine,  cultus  and 
organization  was  "apostolic?",  or  claimed  to  be  de- 
duced from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  But  in  reality  it 
legitimized  in  its  midst  the  Hellenic  speculation, 
the  superstitious  views  and  customs  of  pagan  mys- 
tery-worship and  the  institutions  of  the  decaying 
state  organization  to  which  it  attached  itself  and 
which  received  now  strength  thereby.  In  theory 
monotheistic,  it  threatened  to  become  polytheistic  in 
practice  and  to  give  way  to  the  whole  apparatus  of 
low  or  malformed  religions.  Instead  of  a  religion  of 
pure  reason  and  severest  morality,  such  as  the  apol- 


DKVKI.Ol'MENT   OF   DOC'TRINK    OF   INCARNATION.     105 


K 


ion, 
niys- 
lying 

and 
leory 
;ic  in 
IS  of 
on  of 
apol- 


ogists had  onco  rcpivsontod  Christianity  to  b<',  tho 
hitter  hocamo  tho  religion  of  tliv  most  pofcrrful  con- 
sec  rati  oils,  of  the  nio.st  nii/sterious  vied  id  (i)ul  of 
a  sensKoKs  sauctit}/.  The  tendency  toward  tin;  in- 
vention of  mechanically-atoning  ctmsecn  lions  (sac- 
raments) grow  constantly  mo  ])ronouncod  and  of- 
fended vigorously  thinking  honthen  even. 

The  ada])tation  of  the  local  cults,  manners  and  A.iantation 
customs  mnst  needs  lead  linally  to  a  complete  seen-  ^"'^"'  '''^'• 
larizing  and  splitting  of  tho  Church  (into  national 
churches);  hut  for  the  time  th(Miniting  force  was 
stronger  than  tho  dividing.  The  acknowledgnu>nt 
of  the  same  authorities  and  formulas,  tho  lik(>  regard 
for  the  same  sacramental  consecrations,  the  horr(>r 
at  the  coarse  polytheism,  and  tho  tendency  toward 
asceticism  for  the  sake  of  the  life  heyond,  formed, 
together  with  the  homogeneous  and  well-compacted 
episcopal  organization,  the  common  hasis  of  the 
churches.     All  these  elements  were  not  sul.     ant,    T.MKi.ncy 

however,  to  preserve  the  unit}-  of  the  churches.     If    int.) ' Na- 
tional 
Constantino  had  not  thrown  ahout  them  a  ncnv  hond    cuurchos. 

by  raising  them  to  tho  Church  of  the  empire,  the 
split  which  one  observes  from  tho  *)th  century 
would  have  taken  place  much  earlier;  for  tho  (Episco- 
pal-metropolitan organization  carried  within  itself  a 
centrifugal  element,  and  the  asceticism  in  which  all 
earnest  thinkers  found  themselves  at  one,  could  not 
but  dissolve  the  historic  conditions  u])on  which  tho 
religion  rested,  and  destroy  tho  communal  veneration 
of  God ;  besides,  differences  crept  more  and  more  into 


\ 

I) 


19G        OUTLINKS   OK   TTIK    IIISTOKY    OF   T)OC;MA. 


:hl*^ 


l;tffi    ■ 


f'liristian- 
ily  Tlin-at- 
ciifil  with 

(  'lllllpIt'tC 

Scfiilari/ii- 


anil  TIk'h- 
loKiaiis' 
Cliufch. 


tho   oxpuiimliiig   of   the   author'itios  and   doctrines, 
which  rendered  thoir  internal  harmony  questionable. 

Taking  one's  stand  at  the  end  of  the  Ikl  century 
one  cannot  avoid  the  impression,  that  ecclesiastical 
Christianity  at  that  time  was  threatened  with  com- 
])lete  secularization  and  witii  external  and  internal 
dissolution.  The  danj^er  from  within  Just  prior  to 
tho  Diocletian  persecution,  Eusehius  himself  has  es- 
tablished (IF.  Vj.  VIII,  i.).  He  admits — at  least  as 
regards  the  churches  of  the  Orient — that  they  threat- 
ened to  mingle  with  the  world,  and  that  pure  pagan- 
ism vaunted  itself  among  them.  The  Diocletian 
persecution  fidded  the  external  danger,  and  it  cannot 
be  said  that  it  was  the  strength  of  the  Church  alone 
which  triumphed  over  the  danger. 

Already  at  that  time  tho  Church  was  a  bishops'  and 
theologians'  church.  But  the  power  which,  as  mat- 
ters then  stood,  was  alone  able  to  support  energet- 
ically the  distinctive  character  of  the  religion — the- 
ology— came  very  near  dissolving  it  and  handing  it 
over  to  the  world. 

In  concluding  "  Part  I "  it  was  described  how 
philosophic  theology  gained  the  victory  within  the 
Church  and  how  it  naturalized  its  theses  in  the 
very  formulas  of  the  faith.  "Ebionism"  and 
"  Sabellianism  "  were  conquered.  The  banner  of  the 
Neo-Platonic  philosophy,  however,  was  raised  in 
spite  of  the  shaking  off  of  gnosticism.  All  thinkers 
still  remained  under  the  influence  of  Origen.  But 
since  the  system  of  this  man  was  in  itself  already 


I>i;\  Kl.oi'MKN  r    OK    DOCTIMNK    (»F    IN'(  A  |{N.\TI()N.      I'.l? 

hetorndox,  tlic  (levclojdnriit  of  tlic  Alcxainlri.ni  tlM>-  |\|','|',^'V",,^. 
ology  tlnv{it«Mi(Ml  tlir  ( '!u!»cli  with  fiirtlicr  daiipTs.  MMt.'"' " 
Origin  had  kept  gnosis  and  pistis  unmixed;  ho 
thoiiglit  to  link  toj^cthcr  in  a  conscrvalivc  sense 
evorythin{^  vahiahh'  and  to  hrin^*  to  a  kind  of  vi\\\\- 
Hl)rium  tho  divcM's  factors  (cosniolojjfir  and  sotrri- 
ologir);  lie  had  j^iv(»n  to  liis  thcoloL^y  ])V  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  the  sacred  text  a  I'ihlical  stamp  and 
demanded  throuLrhout  Sci'iptnre  ])roof.  With  the  <>i;ip:iiisru 
epigonoi,  however,  occurred  cl>nn<;«>s  everywliere: 
(1)  Tlie  pupils  as  well  as  the  oi)i)onrnis  of  Orit^en  en- 
deavored to  place  pistis  and  {gnosis  attain  upon  the 
same  plane,  to  add  some  philosophy  to  tlu^  foi'niulas 
of  faith  and  to  subtract  somethinpj  from  the  gnosis. 
Precisely  thereby-  a  stajjjnation  and  confusion  was 
threatening,  which  Origen  had  carefully'  warded  off. 
The  faith  itself  became  obscure  and  unintelligible  to 
the  laity;  (2)  The  cosmologic  and  purely  philos()j)hic 
interests  obtained  in  theology  a  ])reponderance  over 
the  soteriologic.  In  accordance  thercAvith  (^hristol- 
ogy  became  again  in  a  higher  degree  ?  ]>hil()so])hic 
Logos-doctrine  (as  with  the  apologists)  and  the  idea 
of  the  cosmic  God  as  the  lower,  subordinate  God 
alongside  the  highest  God,  threatened  monotheism 
outright.  Alreadj^  here  and  there — in  opposition  to  ^''^l\l'^^^  ',J 
"  Sabellianism  " — articles  of  faith  were  being  com-  ^'i7istlnic 
posed,  in  which  there  was  no  mention  of  Christ,  but 
in  which  the  Logos  alone  was  glorified  in  a  profu- 
sion of  philosophic  predicates  as  the  manifested,  but 
subordinate  God ;  already  the  incarnation  was  cele- 


X- 

11 1 


I'lxpt'IlSt'  of 

"listoric 
Cellist. 


V 


"I 


I 


m 


It 


EllS*>l)lUH 
of 

Ccesui'i'u. 


<^onstan- 

tine, 

Atlia- 

uaiius. 


lOH       olTMNKS  OF   TIIK    UrSTOIIV   oV   ixxiMA. 

bratiMl  jiH  tlio  rising  of  thr  sun  which  //////// ///c.v  all 
men;  ah-cady  iiu'ii  socmtMl  (U'simus  of  ad.ndinj?  jdio- 
noincna  and  vico-rcLCcnts  to  tlic  Nt^o-IMatonic  idea  of 
tho  one  nnnainal)K'  l^cini^  and  his  ^raiU'd  and  more 
or  less  nnmerons  powers,  wliilethey  encircled  nil  with 
a  chaj)let  of  philosophic  artificial  ex])ressions;  (.'») 
Kven  the  Holy  Scriptures  jj^ave  way  somewhat  in 
those  endeavors;  vet  onlv  in  a  formal  manner  and 
without  forf(Mtin}jj  their  vahu'.  The  theology  which 
was  formed  out  of  these  elements  (c.  </.  Kusehius  of 
Caisarea  is  its  representative)  let  everythin;^  j)ass 
that  kept  within  the  hounds  of  Origenism.  Its  n^p- 
resontatives  considered  themselves  as  ('(Discn'dhfcs, 
since  they  rejected  everj'  more  precise  definition  of 
the  doctrine  of  God  (doctrine  of  the  trinity)  and  of 
Christ  as  an  innovation  (antipathy  toward  precise 
definition  of  hitherto  not  precisely  defined  dogmas  has 
always  animated  the  majority  of  the  Church,  since 
precise  definition  is  innovation),  and  since  thc»y  exert- 
ed themselves  solely  for  the  sake  of  science  and  the 
"  faith  "  to  give  form  to  the  Logos-doctrine  in  a  cos- 
mologic  sense  and  to  subordinate  ever^'thing  inward 
and  moral  to  the  thought  of  the  frtHnlom  of  choice. 

Neither  thoughts  of  an  heroic  asceticism,  nor  real- 
istic mysticism  in  the  sense  of  Methodius,  nor  deduc- 
tions from  the  heterodoxies  of  Origen  could  aid  here. 
Theology,  and  with  it  the  Church,  seemed  to  be  irre- 
trievably swallowed  up  in  the  current  of  the  times. 
But  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  there  ap- 
peared a  man  who  saved  the  Church  seriously  threat- 


DKVKhorMKNT   OF   DOCTKINK   OK    IN(  AKNATION.     llM.t 

('110(1  l)y  inward  strif(>  and  outward  ix^rsccutioii — 
(Vnistafiiinc — so  at  tho  hhiuo  timo  tluM'o  appeared  aii- 
otlier  man  wlio  preserved  tlu*  Clnncli  from  the  ('(»m- 
plete  secularization  of  its  most  fundamental  faith — 
Athanasius.  Tru(>,  reactions  ayjainst  the  Loj^os-doe- 
trine  in  tlu»  direction  of  the  complet(»  alienation  of 
the  Son  of  (lod  from  the  Father  were  prohahly  at  no 
time  lackint^  in  the  Orient;  hut  Athanasius  (assisted  Kt'<i(«mp- 
by  the  West,  the  hishops  of  which  however  did  u'.'H/i',, 
not  at  first  recoj^nizo  tlio  pith  of  tli(»  (question)  first  nu'uttti 
secured  to  the  Christian  religion  its  own  territory 
upon  the  i)reoccupiod  soil  of  Greek  speculation  and 
brought  everything  hack  to  the  thought  of  r(Ml(Mnp- 
tion  through  God  liimself,  i.e.  through  the  God-man, 
who  is  of  the  sdtnc  csficnce  with  God.  Ho  was  not 
concerned  about  a  formula,  but  about  a  decisive  basis 
for  faith,  about  redemption  unto  a  divine  life  by  the 
God-man.  Upon  this  surety  alone,  that  the  Divine 
which  appeared  in  Christ  has  the  nature  of  the  God- 
head itself,  and  only  on  that  account  is  able  to  ele- 
vate us  to  a  divine  life,  can  faith  n^ceive  its  power, 
life  its  law  and  theology  its  direction.  But  while 
Athanasius  placed  faith  in  the  God-man,  which  alone 
frees  us  from  deatli  and  sin,  above  everything  else, 
he  at  the  same  time  gave  to  practical  piety,  which 
then  well-nigh  exclusively  lived  in  monkish  asceti- 
cism, the  highest  motive.  He  united  the  'tiii(»»'>(no<i^ 
which  guarantees   the   deification  *  of  human  nat- 


nighf'st 

Motiv.' 

(jiven   tu 

Piety. 


II 


"( 


,1 


*  Vergottung:  The  causing  to  partake  of  the  Divine  nature,  restoration 
to  the  Divine  likeness. 


■PW 


Father  of 

EccU'.sias- 

tictil 

Ortlio- 

doxy. 


I  ■  i 


200        OUTLTXES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OP   DOGMA. 

ure,  in  tlio  closest  rolations  with  the  monkish  as- 
ceticism and  lifted  the  latter  out  of  its  still  subterra- 
nean, or  insecure  sphere  into  the  public  life  of  the 
Church.  While  he  combated  the  formiihi  of  the 
A<>yn<i-xTt(Tfj.a^  the  Nco-Platouic  doctrine  of  a  descending 
trinit}',  as  pagan  and  as  a  denial  of  the  essence  of 
Christianity,  he  also  in  like  manner  combated  ener- 
getically the  tendency  to  worldlj^  living.  He  became 
the  father  of  ecclesiastical  orthodoxy  and  the  patron 
of  ecclesiastical  monasticism:  He  taught  nothing 
neic,  new  only  was  the  dohig,  the  energy  and  exclu- 
siveness  of  his  conceptions  and  actions  at  a  time 
when  everything  threatened  to  dissolve.  He  was 
also  not  a  scientific  theologian  in  the  strict  sense,  but 
he  descended  from  theology  to  piety  and  ^ound  the 
fitting  word.  He  honored  science,  even  that  of  Ori- 
gen,  but  he  went  beyond  the  intelligent  thought  of 
his  time.  While  acknowledging  its  premises,  he 
added  to  them  a  new  element  which  speculation  has 
never  been  able  fully  to  resolve.  Nothing  was  here 
more  unintelligible  to  the  thought  of  the  day  than 
the  assumption  of  the  essential  oneness  of  the  change- 
less and  of  the  working  Divinity.  Athanasius  fixed 
^xciudes    a  gulf  between  the  Logos,  of  which  the  philosophers 


L( 


hers' 

lOgOS. 


thought,  and  the  Logos,  whose  redeeming  power  ho 
proclaimed.  That  which  he  expressed  concerning 
the  latter,  while  announcing  the  mystery  emphat- 
ically and  powerfull}^  and  in  no  way  indulging  him- 
self in  new  distinctions,  appeared  to  the  Greeks  an 
offence  and  foolishness.     But  he  did  not  shun  this 


^^j^m^ 


MP 


•ii- 


xed 
hers 
r  ho 
tiing 
)hat- 
lim- 
s  an 
this 


DF.VEI.OI'MENT   OF    DUCTltlNE   OF    INCARNATION.     X'Ol 

reproach,  rather  did  lie  circumscribe  for  the  Chris- 
tian faith  within  the  ah'eady  given  speculation  its 
own  territory,  and  thus  did  he  find  the  way  to  ward 
off  the  complete  hellenization  and  secularization  of 
Christianity. 


The  historj'  of  dogma  in  the  Orient  since  Nica^a 
shows  two  intermingled  courses  of  develoimient.  In 
the  first  place,  the  idea  of  the  God-man  hecame  defi- 
nitely defined  in  every  direction  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  redemption  of  the  human  race  unto  a 
divine  life — the  creed  of  Athanasius — (histt)ry  of 
dogma  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word).  Secondly, 
the  aim  was  to  determine  how  much  of  the  specu- 
lative system  of  Origen,  i.e.  of  the  ' E>.).r,y.x>i  -rmueia^ 
would  be  endurable  in  the  churches;  in  other  words, 
in  what  measure  the  Sacred  Scriptures  and  rule  of 
faith  would  bear  a  speculative  restatement  and  spirit- 
ualization.  The  treatment  of  both  problems  was 
rendered  difficult  by  countless  conditions  (also  pt)liti- 
cal  ones),  but  above  all  was  it  obscured  and  vitiated 
because  the  Church  was  never  allowed  to  concede  to 
itself  a  theological  handling  of  dogma,  and  because 
at  the  same  time  the  great  majority  of  Christians 
in  fact  denounced  every  effort  leading  to  ne\v  forms 
as  an  apostasy  from  the  faith,  since  the  same  was 
an  innovation.  The  semblance  of  the  ^',sein])er 
idem "  must  ever  be  kept  up,  since  the  Church 
in  its  "  apostolic  inheritance  "  surely  possesses  every- 


In  Orient 

T\v(j  D»'vel- 

opineuts. 


II 


II  i»; 


20 


OUTLINES  OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


it> 


TJii'olo- 
Kiaiis  Dis- 

ficditfd 
Ity  Lat.-r 

Geiit'ra- 
tious. 


Conson-a- 

tives 
Triuir.ph. 


thing  fixed  and  final.  The  theology  and  the  theo- 
logians— oven  the  best  of  them — came  thereby  dur- 
ing their  lifetime  and  .after  their  death  into  the 
worst  predicament;  during  life  they  were  considered 
innovators,  and  after  death,  when  the  dogma  hnd 
progressed  above  and  bej^ond  them,  they  came  often 
enough  wholly  into  discredit,  for  the  more  ])recisely 
perfected  dogma  now  became  the  standard  which 
was  applied  even  to  the  theologians  of  the  earliest 
times.  The  Church  found  rest  onlj-  when  dogma- 
building  ceased  and  when  by  the  side  of  the  com- 
pleted dogma,  a  scholasti co-mystical  theology  and  a 
harmless  antiquarian  science  succeeded  which  no 
longer  touched  the  dogma,  but  either  explained  it  as 
settled,  or  indifferently  laid  it  aside.  Thus  was 
gained  at  last  what  the  "  conserviitives  "  had  alwaj'S 
longed  for.  But  vital  piety  had  in  the  mean  time 
withdrawn  from  the  dogma  and  regarded  them  no 
longer  in  truth  as  the  sphere  in  which  it  lived,  as  its 
original  and  living  expression,  but  looked  upon  them 
as  the  sacred  inheritmice  of  antiquity  and  as  the 
primary  condition  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  Christian 
benefits. 


ii     i: 


Unification 

of 
Churches 

IlllJIOS- 

sible. 


Periods  of  the  Hlstonj  of  Dogma  in  the  Orient. 

Constantine  made  possible  a  unity  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Church  into  dogma  (ecumenical  synods 
Rs  forum  publicnnij  in  place  of  the  symbols  of  the 
provincial  churches  a  homogeneous  dogmatic  confes- 


DKVELOPMKNT   OF    DOCTIIINK    OF   INCARNATION.     'i^K^ 


nt. 


sion  was  introduced);  but  tlio  uuilicutiun  of  the 
churches  in  the  strict  sense  never  became  perfect, 
and  the  tendency  to  a  pecuh'ar  individuality  of  the 
national  churches  grew  stronger  in  direct  contrast  to 
Bjv.antinism,  but  it  was  overc(jine  in  tlu*  Occident, 
since  there  the  old  Roman  enipire  took  refuge  in  the 
Roman  church.  While  the  East  crumbled  to  pieces 
and  Islam  finally  wholly  wrecked  the  creation  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  separating  Greeks  and  Semites, 
the  West  and  the  East  fell  more  and  more  ai»art. 
Yet  till  the  end  of  the  dogma-building  period  in  the 
East,  the  West  took  the  most  active  and  often  de- 
cisive interest  in  dogmatic  decisions. 

I.  Period  from  318-381    (383):  Precisely  defining  orthodoxy 
the    full   Divinity    of    the   Redeemer:   Athanasius, 
Constantine,  the  Cappadocians,  Theodosius.     Ortho- 
doxy con(piers  through  the  firmness  of  Athanasius 

and  a  few  men  in  the  West,  through  the  course  of 
world-wide  historic  events  (sudden  end  of  Arius, 
Julian  and  Valens ;  appearance  in  the  East  of  Theo- 
dosius from  the  West)  and  through  the  ability  of  the 
Cappadocians  to  place  the  creed  of  Athanasius — not 
without  deductions,  to  be  sure — under  the  protection 
of  the  Origenistic  science. 

II.  Period  from  :)83— i51 :     The  independent  theo-  QuamHn'- 

tWt'fll 

logic  science   f/vA/r/zu/^   -auhui^  Origen)  was  alread\'     Amioiii 
violently  combated;  the  ecclesiastical  leaders  aban-     ^llihl." 
doned  it  and  threw  themselves  more  and  more  into 
the  arms  of  communal  and  monkish  orthodoxy.     The 
most  violent  (piarrels,  behind  which  the  question  of 


ii 


II 


« 


i 
ill 


'    !' 


)i::  ' 


I 


StHlition 

and 
Scbisin. 


204        OUTLINKS   OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    DOGMA. 

power  hides  itself,  aros(^  l)etvve(>n  Aiitioeh  and  Alex- 
andria over  the  Christohjgieal  dogma.  The  correct 
^kiX'suh"*^  doctrine  con(inered  at  Ephesiis,  440;  hut,  united  with 
the  tyranny  of  the  Alexandrian  patriarchs,  it  must 
needs  share  the  fate  of  the  latter  and  triumph  over 
emperor  and  state.  Nothing  was  left  to  the  pm- 
peror  but  to  proclaim  the  Occidental  creed  as  the 
orthodox  one  (the  Chalcedon),  which  at  first  was 
strange  to  the  Orient  and  seemed,  not  without  rea- 
son, to  be  heretical. 

III.  Period  from  4r»l-5r);) :  Sedition  and  schism 
in  the  Orient  on  account  of  the  Chalcedon  addition ; 
monophysitism  is  exceedingly  t^nergetic;  at  first  <jr- 
thodoxy  Avas  at  a  loss.  But  speculative  Platonism 
had  exhausted  itself;  in  its  place  had  come  even  in 
the  common  science  the  Aristotelian  dialectics  and 
schohisticism;  on  the  other  side  a  mysteriosophy 
which  knew  how  to  make  something  out  of  every 
formula  fmd  every  rite.  These  powers  succeeded  in 
interpreting  the  formula  that  was  forced  upon  them 
Justinian  (Lcoutius  of  Byzautium,  the  Areopagite).  Justinian, 
Dogma,  ivjecting  this  and  that,  codified  the  dogma  as  well  as 
the  law,  and  closed  not  only  the  school  of  Athens, 
but  also  those  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch.  Origen 
and  the  theologians  of  Antioch  were  condemned. 
Theological  science  remained  a  science  only  of  the 
second  order — scholasticism  and  the  cultus-nij^sti- 
cism,  these  indeed  in  their  fundamental  principle 
and  aim  heterodox,  were  outw^ardly  however  en- 
tirely correct.     The  Church  did  not  renew  the  agita- 


i 


111 


Ian, 
as 


ills. 


gen 


tlie 

rsti- 

iple 

en- 

dta- 


Monntlio- 
U'tic  Strife. 


DEVELOPMENT   OK   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     205 

tion.  for  it  hna  always  wished  peace,  and  piety  had 
long  since  thrown  itself  into  inonasticism  and  the 
mysteries. 

IV.  Period  from  55;)-(lS():  The  monotheletic  (juar- 
rels,  primaril}'  partly  after-play  partly  rei)etition  of 
the  old  strife,  were  born  not  of  conviction,  but  of 
politics.  Here  also  the  West  must  finally  come  to 
the  rescue  with  a  bloodless  formula. 

V.  Period  from  T"iG-S4:i:  In  truth  the  conflicts  of  imapocon- 

trovLTsy. 

this  period  (Image-contest)  sliow  already  that  the 
history  of  dogma  is  at  end ;  but  there  existed  still  a 
conflict  about  what  seemed  to  be  the  practical  issim 
of  the  history  of  dogma,  about  the  right  of  being 
allowed  to  perceive  and  venerate  in  a  thousand  sen- 
suous objects  the  deification,  the  unification  of  the 
heavenly  and  earthly.  Besides,  here  is  seen  plainly 
at  the  conclusion  what  seems  a  subordinate  factor 
in  the  whole  history  of  dogma,  but  is  not,  viz. :  The 
fight  betvreen  the  state  (the  emperor)  and  the  Church 
(the  bishops  and  monks)  for  supremacy,  in  respect 
to  which  the  formation  of  dogma  and  cultus  is  of  the 
highest  importance.  The  state  must  finally  abandon 
the  introduction  of  its  state-religion,  but  in  return 
for  this  concession  it  remains  the  victor  in  the  field. 
The  Church  retains  its  cultus  and  its  peculiar, 
practical  fructifying  of  the  dogma,  but  it  becomes 
definitely  de[  endent,  a  prop,  a  plaything,  in  certain 
ways,  indeed  also  the  palladium  of  the  state  and 
of  the  nation. 


("huroh 
and   State. 


i; 


II 


»v,.'     ■' 


I 


.  'I* 

i  t"* 

■  it-ni 

I  it^ 


n 


5 


!    '    h\ 


mi 


M 


206       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


V  a    I 


M     ' 


Orthodox 
CoiK-epMim 

of 
Salvation. 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  FUNDAMENTAL  CONCEPTION  OF  SALVATION 
AND  A  GENERAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
FAITH. 

Hernnann,  Gregorii  Nj'ss.  sentcntiae  de  salute  adipisc. , 
IHTr).  Schultz,  Lehre  v.  d.  Gottheit  Christi,  18HI.  Ritsclil, 
Die  clnistl.  Lelire  v,  d.  Rechtfert.  und  Veraoh. ,  2.  Auti. 
Bd.  I.  S.  3  ff. 

1.  In  the  dogmatic  conflicts  from  the  4th  to  the 
Tth  century,  it  is  clear  that  at  that  time  men 
were  contending  about  Christology  with  the  con- 
sciousness that  it  contains  the  essence  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Everything  else  was  asserted  only  in 
vague  expression^  and  on  that  .'oCcount  had  not  the 
value  of  a  dogmatic  declaration  in  the  strictest  sense 
of  the  word.  Accordingly  for  orthodoxy  the  follow- 
ing fundamental  conception  of  salvation  obtained: 
The  salvation  offered  by  Christianity  consists  in  the 
redemption  of  the  human  race  from  a  condition  of 
perishableness  and  sin,  consequent  upon  it,  unto  a 
divine  life  {i.e.  on  the  one  side  deification,*  oil  the 
other  blissful  enjoyment  of  God),  which  has  already 
taken  place  through  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God  and  which  accrues  to  humanity  by  reason  of  the 
indissoluble  union  with  him.  Christianity  is  that 
religion  which  frees  from  death  and  leads  men  to  a 
participation  in  the  Divine  life  and  es.seuce,  per 
adopt ionem.     Redemption,   therefore,   is  conceived 

♦  See  page  199,  note. 


DEVELOrMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     WH 


as  the  abolition  of  the  natural  state  through  a  mi-  '^'i'|,';[['''' 
raculous  transformation  (doitication  is  the  central  Minir'uious 
thought) ;  the  religious  benefit  of  salvation  is  defi-  matiou. 
nitely  distinguished  from  the  moral,  and  the  idcd  of 
atonement  accordingly  remains  rudimentary ;  for  the 
present  state  only  a  i)rovisional  enjoyment  of  salva- 
tion is  presupposed  (calling,  knowledge  of  God  and 
of  salvation,  victory  over  the  demons,  heli)ful  com- 
munications from  Cxo(\,  enjoyment  of  the  mysteries). 
Accordingly  the  fundamental  confession  is  that  of 
Irenseus :  "  We  become  divine  for  Christ's  sake,  since 
he  also  for  our  sakes  has  become  human".  This 
confession,  rightly  weighed,  demands  two  principal 
dogmas,  no  more  and  no  less :  "  Christ  is  'Ve^v,'  uiunrmu,^^^ 
this  ''>;  's"  <'H()o'')(T(n<;  has  taken  human  nature  into  his 
own  being  and  fashioned  it  into  oneness  with  him- 
self". 

But  these  dogmas  were  carried  through  only  after 
severe  conflicts;  they  never  gained  a  porfectl}'  clear 
stamp  and  never  obtained  the  exclusive  dominion, 
which  they  demand.  The  reasons  for  this  are  as 
follows : 

(1)  The  formulas  which  wererecpiired,  being  nrii', 
had  the  spirit  of  the  Church  against  them,  which 
suspected  even  the  best  of  innovations ; 

(2)  The  pure  exposition  oi  JaitJi  is  at  all  times  the 
most  difficult  problem;  but  at  tluit  lime  it  was  es})e- 
cially  hampered  by  apologetic,  as  well  as  by  other 
foreign  considerations ; 

(3)  The  orthodox  formulas  conflicted  with  every 


DoRinas 

Cut  it '(I 

thri>nt;li 

afttT 

StruKglt'S. 


I 


1/ 


I 


I 


I 

'i 


'A 


208       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


I    ,    "  I 


i 


?: 


'l  I 


philosophy;  they  proved  an  offence  to  disciplined 
scholastic  thinking;  but  it  was  a  long  time  before 
men  recognized  in  the  incomprehensible  the  charac- 
teristics of  that  which  is  Holy  and  Divine; 

(-1)  The  conception  of  the  salvation  obtained 
through  the  God-man  was  joined  to  the  scheme  of 
"natural  theology  "  (moralism),  i.e.  grafted  upon  it; 
natural  theology  endeavored  thenceforth  to  build 
upon  the  dogma  and  to  bring  itself  into  conformity 
with  it; 

(o)  The  mystical  doctrine  of  salvation  and  its  new 
formulas  had  not  only  no  Scriptural  authority  in 
their  favor,  but  conflicted  also  with  the  evangelical 
idea  of  Jesus  Christ;  New  Testament  ideas  and 
reminiscences,  Biblical  theologomena  in  general  of 
the  most  varied  kind,  have  always  surged  about  the 
growing  and  matured  dogma  and  prevented  their 
exclusive  domination; 

(ij)  The  peculiar  form  of  the  Occidental  Christology 
interfered  as  a  disturbing  element  with  the  Oriental 
history  of  dogma.  Thrown  upon  its  own  resources, 
the  Orient  would  have  been  obliged  to  legitimize 
monophysitism ;  the  Gospel,  the  Occident  and  the 
emperors  prevented  it  from  doing  so.  An  incorrect 
formula  triumphed,  but  it  received  a  correct  inter- 
pretation ;  vice  versa,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, the  correct  formula  of  Athanasius  triumphed, 
but  under  an  interpretation  which  was  influenced  by 
the  secular  science  of  the  Cappadocians.  Each  re- 
sult had  the  historical  consequence  that  the  orthodox 


o 
a 


.i^mMM^^>iSl 


fts    Uflatrd 
to 

Morality. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCAUNATInN.     209 

Church  reniaiiied  in  contact  with  Biblical  theology 
and  with  science  (scholasticism). 

2.  Since  the  doctrine  of  salvation  was  kept  strictly  ^'j'JIvHrioi'i'' 
within  the  scheme  of  the  mystico-realistic  idea  of 
redemption,  it  was  in  itself  indifferent  to  the  moral; 
bat  on  every  side  men  were  sure  that  Christianity 
also  embraced  the  highest  morality.  Accordingly 
the  benefits  of  salvation  were  adjudged  only  to  mor- 
ally good  men,  but  the  morally  good  conceived  as 
the  product  of  the  free  agency  of  man  and  as  the 
condition  of  sanctification  to  be  fulfilled  by  him, 
whereby  God  at  the  most  was  conceived  of  as  assist- 
ing (this  concerns  positive  morality;  the  negative, 
asceticism,  was  regarded  as  the  direct  preparation 
for  deification  *).     The  dogmatic  form  of  the  Chris-  Freodomof 

'  ^  Election 

tian  religion  was,  therefore,  balanced  by  the  idea  of 
freedom  of  election  (See  already  Clem.  Alex.  Pro- 

trep.   1,  7:    i"''    ''^    C'/-'    edioa^sv    i ::'.</•  a .>:)<,'  w>i^   (hdarrxaXtK^^  'iva 

To  «££  C>>  uffre/xr^  (US'  'Vi-'?  xi'i>fiYf','^l)->  ^uid  this  is  only  the 
shortest  expression  for  the  whole  natural  theology 
which  the  Charcli  appropriated  from  the  ancient  phi- 
losophy and  treated  as  the  self-erident  presupposition 
of  its  specific  doctrine,  reckoning  upon  a  general  un- 
derstanding of  the  same.  Consequently  Greek  Chris- 
tianity oscillates  between  two  poles,  which  are  simply 
co-ordinate  with  each  other.  Dor/ mas  in  a  strict 
sense  exist  only  within  the  doctrine  of  redemption; 
on  the  other  hand,  there  exist  only  2>''^''S?//;po.s'///o//.s' 
and  conceptions  (so  far,  deviations  in  simple  mat- 

*See  papp  lO'i.  note. 
U 


•  '1* 


1 

1  '  1 

■  t 

r^' 

' 

:» 

^ 

' 

n>i 

■f. 

'■■* 

'     1 

( 

i  '  ' 


(■■ 


>  ■! 


I  it     I 


Rlhllcnl 

lifiilisin 

and   Vcr- 

baliHiii. 


Natiiral 
Theology. 


210        OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

tors  aro  hero  not  insiipportabk').  But  since  the 
Greek  natural  philosophy  stood  in  conilict  in  not  a 
few  points  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  with  the  rule  of  faith  (mh,  above  all, 
the  theology  of  Origen  pi'oves),  problems  must  arise 
her(5  also,  which  in  an  increasing  measure  were 
solved  in  dcfdil  in  favor  of  Biblical  realism  and 
Biblical  verbalism,  contrary  to  reason  and  an  idealis- 
tic view,  even  though  in  gcnrnd  the  rationalistic- 
moral  scheme  remained  unscathed  (vid.  dogmatics  of 
John  of  Damascus;  Sophronius  of  Jerusalem:  ''^sio- 
fkuiit'j  fhiai'i  fj.-Ta,3<i/.(u<i  xai  fit,urjfTzfTi'^) .  An  cntireh'  subor- 
dinate part  was  played  by  the  primitive  Christian 
eschatology  ci.ongside  of  the  redemption-mysticism, 
rationalism  and  Biblicism;  gradually,  however,  it 
also  was  aided  by  Biblicism  (cf .  the  history  of  the 
Apocalypse  in  the  Greek  Church) ;  men  began  again 
to  add  apocalyptic  ideas  to  dogmatics,  which  how- 
ever remained  without  any  real  effect.  The  valua- 
ble part  also  of  the  old  eschatology,  the  expectation 
of  the  Judgment,  never  played  the  part  in  Greek 
theology^  which  is  due  to  this  highly  important  rem- 
nant. In  spite  of  the  rejection  of  the  Origenistic 
eschatology  there  remained  in  Greek  dogmatics  a 
slight  trace  of  the  conception  of  history  as  an  evolu- 
tion. 

3.  As  a  result  of  this  examination  it  follows  that 
after  sifting  the  authorities  and  sources  of  informa- 
tion, (A)  that  one  has  to  treat  natural  theology  as  pre- 
supposing the  doctrine  of  redemption;  this,  however, 


DEVELOPMKNT   OF    DOCTKINK    OV   INCAHNATTON.     211 


tliat 
irma- 
^  pve- 

ever, 


divides  itself  into  the  doctriiK' i>f  f/oJ  Mnd  thedoc-  ";;';.lji!|;;,;.'^ 
trino  of  man.  Fartlior,  (I*)  the  doctrine  of  redt'inp- 
tion  itself  must  be  treated  in  its  historic  (Icrc/o/nuciif 
as  tlio  doctrine  of  the  trijiity  and  Christology.  The 
conchision  forms  (C)  the  doclrino  of  the  mysteries,  T).Miiin.-.,f 
in  which  alnvidy  in  this  life  the  coming  deification  * 
of  the  temporal  is  rejiresented  and  can  be  (»n joyed. 
To  this  should  bo  added  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the 
origin  of  the  orthodox  system. 

Note:  Only  through  Aristotelianism  did  the  Greek  ^'^!S,l[^y 
Church  after  Origen  arrive  again  at  a  dogmatic  masnis.'" 
system,  which  was,  however,  by  no  mesms  a  uni- 
versal system  (Jt)hn  of  Damascus).  A  knowledge 
of  the  history  of  Greek  dogma  is  therefore  to  be 
gained,  aside  from  the  acts  and  decisions  of  synods, 
(1)  from  the  numerous  works  on  the  incarnation  of 
the  Son  of  God,  (2)  from  the  catechetical  writings, 
(3)  from  the  apologetic  treatises,  (4)  from  the  mono- 
graphs on  the  "  six  days'  work  "  and  similar  composi- 
tions as  well  as  from  the  exegetical  works,  (.5)  from 
the  monographs  on  virginity,  monasticism,  perfec- 
tion, the  virtues  and  the  resurrection,  (''<)  from 
monographs  on  the  mysteries,  cultus  and  priest- 
hood, (T)  from  sermons.  In  using  these  sources 
this  fact  with  others  is  to  be  considered^  that  the 
fathers  frequently  wrote  '^f^Arxrufwv-,  and  that  the 
official  literature  (sjmod  literature)  in  an  increas- 
ing measure  bristles  with  falsifications  and  is  per- 
meated with  conscious  untruth  and  injustice. 

t  S.'(-  (.i-c  I'.l'.i.  imt". 


2: 

.""I' 

s  • 


"  'J 


V 


2l'i 


OUTLINES   OF   TIIK   IIISTOUY    OF   DOGMA. 


CHAITKII     III. 


1  ) 


r 


•iti! 


Cathulio 

Aiillioii- 

ties. 


Holy 

;M'ri|itui'('s 

riiiiiiic 
Autliuiity. 


Tin-:     soL'RCEs    OF     knowlkf)(;f    anf)     the    au- 

THOItlTIFS,     OK      SCKIPTUIiK,     TKADITION,     AND 
THE   CIILIICH. 

St'C  the  IntroductioiiH  to  tho  Old  an<l  New  Tostanu'iits. 
Jacobi,  Die  k  L  v.  <1.  Trad  if  ion  u.  h.  Schrift.  1.  Al>tli., 
1H17.  Ildlt/inaiin,  Kaiioii  u.  Tradition,  IHW.  Sodcr,  Dor 
Hcj^rifT  d.  KallioliritiU  d.  K. ,  ISMl,  Scclierg.  Studicu  z. 
(icsch.  d.  Bi'grill'H  d.  K. ,  IHH').  Router,  Augustiu.  Studicu, 
isss. 

The  extent  aiitl  value  of  tli(»  Catholic  authorities 
wa.s  already  essentially  estahlished  at  the  beginning 
of  the  4th  eentury,  although  iK-rhaps  not  their  mu- 
tual relation  and  the  maimer  of  their  exposition. 
Undernealli  the  great  contrast  between  the  more 
liberal  theology  and  pure  traditionalism  lay  also  ii 
different  conception  of  the  anthorities,  bv.t  this  never 
found  a  statement.  Changes  took  place  during  the 
period  between  Eusebius  and  John  of  Damascus, 
keeping  pace  with  the  growing  traditionalism;  but 
no  one  undertook  to  make  an  inventory,  a  proof  that 
opponents  of  the  method,  worthy  of  notice,  failed  to 
palm  oil"  the  existing  state  of  the  Church  as  the  tra- 
ditional (apostolic).  The  sects  alone  protested  and 
continued  to  agitate. 

].  The  Hoi  11  Scri))tuvcs  had  a  unique  authority. 
To  depend  upon  them  alone  was  in  reality  not  un- 
catholic;  Scripture-proof  one  might  ahva^'s  dinnand. 
But  an  entirely  accepted  agreement,  even  respecting 


II 


...j^.juhkMt/if*'^ 


UEVKLOl'MKNT  OF   DOCTKINK   OK   INCAHNATIUN.     "^'l:* 


jrity. 
iin- 
land. 
cting 


Au>,'im- 

tiiic's 

Vifw 


the  oxtoiit  of  tho  Hil)!*',  did  not  oxist  {hvo  the  sclmol 
of  Antiocli  witli  its  criticism  of  the  canon).  As 
regards  the  Old  Testament  thi'  llehraic  canon  only 
was,  in  theory,  for  a  long  time  considered  the  stand- 
ard in  the  Orient;  nevertheless,  in  practice,  the  writ- 
ings which  were  coined  with  th(»  T^XX  had  value. 
Only  in  the  ITth  century  through  lloman  inllueiico 
did  the  e(iualization  of  the  canonical  and  dcuitero- 
canonical  writings  tak(»  place  in  the  Ori(>nt,  yet  not 
in  the  form  of  an  olhcial  (hrlaration.  In  the  Occi- 
dent the  uncritical  view  of  Augustine  gained  tlu^ 
victory  over  the  critical  one  of  Jerome  (synods  at     A..v|.t.-,i 

^  ,  iristfiiil  III' 

Hii)po,  '.VX],  and  Carthage,  IJ'.iT),  which  had  oidy  a  Jfiuin.'s. 
slight  after-eft'ect.  Into  the  Alexandrian  canon, 
moreover,  were  also  introduced  apocalypsi^s  like 
Hernias  and  Esra. — Regarding  the  Xew  Testament, 
Eusehius  made  rather  a  relative  end  to  a  highly  in- 
secure state  of  atl'airs.  Witli  tin?  threo  categories 
which  he  ado])ted  one  could  not  content  oneself,  and 
the  early  decrees  of  provincial  churches  had  an  after- 
effect, especially  in  the  Orient.     Yet  after  the  mid-    Kssentiai 

A^^TflMlll'llI 

die  of  the  -1th  centurv  there  prevailed  (save  in  the    kv  M'.i.iir 

'■  ^  of  4lli 

Syrian  churches)  in  the  Orient  an  essential  agree-  ^'^'"^'"> 
ment  in  regard  to  the  New  Testament.  Only  the 
Apocalypse  of  John  remained  still  for  a  long  time 
excluded;  slight  fluctuations  were  not  wanting. 
How  the  Occident  came  to  accept  the  Epistle  of 
James,  of  II.  Peter  and  III.  John  is  entirely  in  the 
dark.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  received 
through  the  celebrated  mediating-men  of  the  4  th  cen- 


l! 


U 


i: 

it  J 

t  - 

<-, 

1:1 


\ 


.1, 


r 


1.1 


11 


.11 

i 


n 


I 


I  %i: 


\ 


HI? 

I? 

'.it 


Sr    !l!i' 


Holy 

Scriptures 

Divine. 


214        OUTLINES   or   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

tury.  Augnstino's  views  in  regard  to  the  extent  of 
the  New  Testament  lias  been  the  aiitlioritative  stand- 
ard for  the  whole  Occident  (see  also  the  so-called 
"  Docret.  Gelasii").  However,  an  ecclesiastical  judg- 
ment on  this  (jiiestion,  excluding  every  doubt,  did 
not  take  place  until  the  Tridentine  council. 

All  predicates  concerning  the  Holy  Scriptures  dis- 
appeared behind  that  of  their  cUviiicness  (works  of  the 
Holy  Spirit);  insi)iration  in  the  highest  sense  was 
now  restricted  to  them.  From  their  inspiration  came 
the  demand  for  spiritualistic  (allegorical)  exegesis, 
and  also  for  conforming  the  content  of  the  texts  to 
each  other  as  well  as  to  the  accepted  dogmatic  teach- 
ing. Yet  the  letter  should  also  be  hoi}'  and  contain 
that  which  is  most  holy  (against  Origen) ;  laymen, 
eager  for  miracles,  and  critics  (Antiochians)  took 
oides  in  favor  of  the  letter  and  of  history.  A  safe 
method  was  wanting:  Opposing  views  were  the 
spiritual  exegesis  of  the  Alexandrians,  the  histori co- 
critical  one  of  the  Antiochians  which  sought  for  a 
jxed  type,  the  literalistic,  realistic  one  of  barbarian 
monks  and  of  sturdy  theologians  (Epiphanius). 
Very  gradually  a  compromise  was  made  in  the 
Orient  in  regard  to  the  most  important  Scripture 
or-rfpuistic  passages  and  their  interpretations.     The  Origenistic, 

aud 

Antiochian  and  Still  morc  the  Antiochian  exegesis  was  repressed 

I'iXepesis  "  ^ 

hi  oiS!  t)ut  not  vanquished,  the  literalistic,  realistic  one, made 
palatable  through  mystic  fancies,  pushed  forward  (see 
John  ot"  Damascus,  and  his  interpretation  of  Gen. 
1-3.)      The   Occident  became  acquainted  with  the 


I'  i: 

m 


'        Hi' I 


J)KVEL01\MENT   OK    DOCTRINE   OF    INCARNATION. 


'4[.) 


spiritual,  scientiiie  metliod  of  tlio  Cappadocians 
through  Hilary,  Ambrose,  Jfrome,  and  Riifmus. 
Before  and  afterward  there  was  a  complete  lack  of 
system;  regard  for  the  letter  went  hand  in  hand 
with  allegorical  fancies  and  chiliastic  interests. 
Jerome  was  too  cowardly  to  teach  his  contempo- 
raries the  better  view,  and  Augustine,  although  he 
learned  from  the  Greeks,  never  rose  abovy  the  latter 
and  did  not  even  reach  them.  He  introduced  into 
the  Occident  the  Scripture-theology  with  its  waver- 
ing three-  and  four-fold  sense,  and  above  all  the  strict 
Biblicism,  although  he  himself  knew  that  religious 
truth  is  an  inward  assurance  to  which  tlie  Scriptures 
can  only  lecid^  and  that  there  exists  a  Christian  free- 
dom which  is  also  independent  of  the  Scriptures  {cle 
doctrina  Christiana).  Through  Junilius  especially 
the  more  methodical  Antiochian  exegesis  exerted  an 
Influence  over  the  Occident,  without  being  able  to 
remedy  the  lack  of  method  and  the  tendency  to  apol- 
ogetic renderings  on  the  part  of  the  commentators. 
After-all  the  Scrijitures  received  in  fact  a  position  in 
the  life  of  the  Church  in  the  Occident,  different  from 
their  position  in  the  Orient  (formerly  it  was  other- 
wise; see  e.g.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem);  they  occupied  a 
more  prominent  place.  This  is  to  be  explained  pri- 
marily from  the  influence  of  Augustine  and  from  the 
fact  that  ecclesiastical  dogmatics  in  the  Occident  was 
never  so  assertive  as  in  the  Orient.  Just  as  the  ex- 
tent of  the  Scriptures  was  never  securely  settled,  so 
also  their  properties  were  not.  The  predicate  of  iner- 


Jcrome, 
Augustine. 


Junilius 

Influences 

West. 


- -S 


-111 

Mi 


li 


I 


::,V 


^■^ 


"«, 


'    %l. 


t:f 


TiK'rr.'uicv : 
Two  Tfsta- 

UU'UtS. 


Tradition. 


Faitii  of 
Church. 


21G       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOOM  A. 

ranry  had  indeed  t(j  submit  to  gentle  restrictions  and 
men  did  not  really  come  to  a  clear  conception  of  the 
sufficiency  of  the  S^-riptures.  In  regard  to  the  two 
Testaments  there  remained  the  same  want  of  clear- 
ness as  formerly  (the  O.  T.  is  a  Christian  book  as 
well  as  the  N.  T. — the  O.  T.  throughout  is  a  record 
of  the  prophecies — the  O.  T.  is  the  book  which  con- 
tains, with  certain  restrictions  and  under  definite  en- 
cumbrances, the  verities  of  the  faith,  and  it  has  led 
and  leads  pedagogicc.'lly  to  Christ). 

2.  Trail ii ion.  Scripture  did  not  succeed  (at  least 
not  in  the  (Orient)  in  ridding  itself  of  the  conditions 
under  which  it  originated,  and  in  becoming  a  fully 
independent  authorit}-.  The  Church,  its  doctrines 
and  institutions,  was  in  itself  the  source  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  guarantee  of  the  authority  of  the  truth. 
Everything  in  it  is  fundamentally  apostolic,  because 
it  is  of  apostolic  origin.  Hence  it  is  plain  why  the 
making  of  an  inventory  of  tradition  could  not  take 
place.  It  remained  de  f^icto  always  elastic;  what 
the  apostolic  Church  found  necessary  is  apostolic, 
therefore  ancient.  But  at  first  one  did  not  foiego 
distinctions  and  proofs. 

Trpdition  was  above  all  the  faith  of  the  Church. 
The  symbols  were  considered  apostolic ;  yet  only  the 
Roman  church  prod  nmed  its  creed  as  apostolic  in 
the  strictest  sense  (composed  by  the  apostles).  But 
the  content  of  the  Nicene  and  Chalcedon  creeds 
was  considered  as  apostolic,  yes,  as  the  legacy  of  the 
apostles  xar£^oj(rjv  and  as  the  quintessence  of  the  Holy 


ifg?;.-.>-^;-A.^,,:i:i ff,  --. ;-, ,    ,„mtepai,..ii..MM— 


tho 
in 
kit 
ids 
the 


DELELOPMEXT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INX'ARNATION.     -^17 

Scriptures.  Yet  tho  rehition  between  Scripture  and 
symbolB  remained  elastic.  In  the  Orient  the  so- 
called  Conslantinopulitan  creed  became  the  chief 
symbol;  in  the  Occident  the  apostles' creed  held  tho 
first  place  and  was  explained  according  to  the  former. 

But  tho  regulations  also  of  the  organization  and  ^"^i"-!]}^!,""'' 
cultus  were  i)laced  under  the  protection  of  apostolic  •^^'"*'^*'  '-• 
tradition,  and  one  pointed  as  i)roof  to  their  general 
spread  and  also  to  tho  legends  concerning  the  apos- 
tles. Besides,  men  began  in  the  -ttli  century — not 
without  influence  from  tho  side  of  Origen  and 
Clement — to  introduce  the  concentions  of  an  apostolic 
Taf)d<lo(n>i  nYi>a(fi>i^  in  the  wholly  uncertain  content  of 
which  they  even  included  dogmatic  teaching — how- 
ever, very  rarely  trinitarian  and  Christological  watch- 
words— the  understanding  of  which  was  not  every- 
body's  concern  (thus  especially  the  Cappadocians). 
But  this  gnostic  conception  of  tradition  (secret  tradi- 
tion), although  it  became  mo'-e  and  more  settled,  was 
yet  felt  to  be  dangerous ;  use  was  made  of  it  in  dog- 
matic discussions  only  in  extreme  cases  {e.  (/.,  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit),  and  it  was  otherwise 
applied  to  the  mj'steries  and  their  ritual  expositions. 

Since  it  was  understood  that  the  decisive  authority 
was  vested  in  the  Church  itself  by  virtue  of  its  union 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  (Augustine:  ^^ ego  erangelio 
noil  crederem^  nisi  me  catholicae  ecclesiae  commo- 
veret  aiicfoiitas"),  the  questions  must  arise:  ^j^^.^^^^  ,j 

(1)  Through   whom   and   when   does  the  Church     ^Loes" 

,   „  Church 

speak?  niwiikt 


1 1<( 

i"* 


I 


i: 


,'m§ 


Mil 


V 


21 S        OUTLINES    OF   THE    HISTORY   OK   IXXiMA. 


Iniiova- 
tious. 


I|f 


^. 


,rr 


M 


^«   M 


'    Episco- 
pate 
Represents 
Cnurch. 


Ecnmeni- 

cal 
Couucils. 


!;•  * 


(2)  How  aro  i\u)  innovations  in  tho  Church,  espe- 
cially within  the  realm  of  doctrine,  to  be  interpreted 
if  the  authority  of  the  Church  is  lodged  entirely  in 
its  apostolicity,  i.e.  in  its  permanence?  Both  (ques- 
tions, however,  were  never  distinctly  put,  and  there- 
fore only  very  vaguely  answered.  Fixed  was  it  that 
the  representation  of  the  Church  was  vested  in  the 
episcopate  (see  Euseb.  II.  E.),  although  the  strict 
theory  of  Cyprian  had  not  at  all  become  common 
property  and  the  idea  had  never  cr()i)ped  out  that  the 
individual  bishop  is  infallible.  But  already  there 
was  attributed  a  certain  inspiration  tt)  the  provincial 
synods.  Constantino  first  called  an  ecumenical  synod 
and  declared  its  decisions  to  be  without  error. 
Slowly  the  thought  of  the  infallible  authority  of  the 
Nicene  coinicil  crept  in  during  the  4tli  century  and 
was  later  on  transferred  to  the  following  councils, 
in  such  a  way,  however,  that  one  synod  (^d)  was 
stamped  2^ost  factum  as  ecumenical,  and  the  dif- 
ference between  them  and  tho  provincial  synods  re- 
mained for  a  long  time  unsettled  (Was  the  synod 
of  Aries  ecumenic?).  Through  .>ustinian  the  four 
councils  were  placed  upon  an  unapproachable  height, 
and  after  the  7th  council  the  principle  established 
itself  firmly  in  the  Orient,  that  the  sources  of  knowl- 
edge of  Christian  truth  are  the  Scriptures  and  the 
decrees  of  the  seven  ecumenical  councils.  Even  to- 
day men  assume  frequently  in  the  Orient  an  air  as 
if  the  Church  did  not  possess  or  need  any  other,  s 

But  this  apparently  simple  and  consistent  develop- 


liiai ' 


lop- 


DKVKI.OPMENT   Ol'^    DOCTlilNK    (»K    IN'CAKNATION.     'i\U 

nioiit  solved  by  no  moans  all  tho  ili  Ilk' ill  ties,  bucauso 
councils  were  not  always  at  band  and  otber  anllior- 
ities  also  bad  still  to  bo  taken  into  account.  How 
sbould  one  act  if  the  Cburcli  lias  not  yot  spoken? 
Does  not  an  especial  autbority  belong  to  tbo  occu- 
pants of  tbe  great  aj)ostolic  episcopal  cliairs,  or  to 
tbo  bisbops  of  tbe  capitals? 

Ans.  1 ,  Tbo  Cburcb  also  sjjoaks  tbrougb  unan- 
imous ancient  testimonies.  Tbe  citing  of  tbe 
"  fatbers  ''  is  important,  even  decisive.  Wbatever 
bas  universality  and  anticpiity  is  true.  Besides,  tbe 
conception  of  "  anticpiit}' "  grew  (>ver  more  elastic. 
Originally  tbe  disciples  of  tbe  jipostlcs  were  tlu^ 
"ancients",  tben  tbey  counted  also  tbe  .')d  and  4tb 
generations  among  tbe  '  ancients",  tben  Origen  and 
bis  disciples  were  tbe  "ancient"  expounders;  finally 
tbe  wbole  ante-Constantino  epocli  was  considered 
classic  anticpiity.  But  since  one  could  make  use  of 
rather  little  from  tins  period,  appeal  was  taken  to 
Atbanasius  and  tbo  fatbers  of  tbe  -Itli  century,  just 
as  to  tbe  "anci<'nts",  and  at  tbe  same  time  to  numer- 
ous falsifications  under  the  namc^  of  tbe  fatbers  of 
the  2d  and  3d  centuries.  At  tbo  councils  one  counted 
more  and  more  only  the  voices  of  the  "  ancients  "  and 
employed  very  general  explanations  to  confirm  tbe 
new  formulas  and  watcbwords.  Tilings  came  tbus 
to  be  decided  more  and  more  according  to  autbori- 
ties,  wbich  one  indeed  frequently  first  created.  Tbe 
council  was  therefore  infallible,  only  and  in  so  far 
as  it  did  not  teach  anything  else  but  the  "fatbers". 


How   Aft 

when 

Chuivli 

lias  utit 

Si>okeii? 


f 


*    \* 

■.I 


»Hf. 

i 

i'** 

1" 

■   :W 

•  lit 

•:  •!» 

•^■"M 

<""*f| 

■*n\ 

^  Jil  ^ 

-.Ui 

-,^1: , 

;-3:   ■ 

ii-t! 

:.V'[ 

^                                ^ 

;•■■•■ 

■ 

ji'.  a   '     . 

m 

1    . 

■>\rt 

il 

til  ,  '■ 
i    ■ 

i' 


r 


'¥M 


'       '  I 


lit  r 


!,  ,^  i 


MM'  : 


iliit 


2i30        OUTLINES  OP   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

The  infallibility  was  therefore  primarily  not  a  direct 
one. 
Special         Ans.  2.  Aiigustine  recalled  to  mind  the  especial 

Authority 

Beiongto    authority  of  the  a])ostolic  chairs  (also  the  Oriental) 

Apostolic  */  L  \  / 

Chairs?  ^^jj  ^\^q  question  concerning  the  extent  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  But  in  the  (Jrient  this  authority  was 
merged  in  that  of  the  chairs  of  the  capitals  and 
therefore  Constantinople  moved  to  the  front,  being 
strongly  attacked  by  the  Roman  bishop.  The  Roman 
chair  alone  was  able  not  only  to  preserve  its  ancient 
authority  in  the  Occident,  but  also  to  heighten  it 
(only  apostolic  chair  in  the  Occident,  Peter  and  Paul, 
fall  of  the  West-Roman  empire,  the  centre  for  the 
remnant  of  Romanism  in  the  West)  and  (thanks  to 
the  favorable  circumstances  of  political  and  ecclesi- 
astical history)  to  fortify  the  same  also  in  the  Orient, 
under  great  fluctuation  to  be  sure.  To  the  Roman 
bishop  was  always  attached  an  authority  peculiar  in 
kind,  w^ithout  its  being  possible  to  define  the  same 
more  closely.  It  only  ceased  in  the  Orient,  when 
Orient  and  Occident  possessed  nothing  more  what- 
ever in  common.  But  before  the  same  became  ex- 
tinct the  Roman  bishop,  in  league  with  the  eastern 
Roman  emperor,  had  gained  the  point  that  in  the 
Orient  attempts  at  a  primacy  of  any  bishop,  espe- 
cially the  Alexandrian,  should  be  suppressed,  to 
whicn  suppression  the  Christological  contests  contrib- 
uted. The  great  chairs  of  the  patriarchs  in  the 
Orient,  weakened  through  schisms,  partially  deprived 
of  their  real  importance,  stood  in  theory  in   equal 


Chairs  of 
Capitals. 


hm 


m 

le 

le- 

Ito 


(.'nuni'ils 
Not  Au- 
thorita- 
tive. 


Apostolic 
Lt'Kacy. 


DKVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  INCARNATION.     '2*2 1 

positions  toward  one  another.  Tiieir  occupants  also 
represented  in  their  co-oj)erations  a  kind  of  dogmatic 
authority,  which  however  was  defined  neither  in 
itself,  nor  in  its  rehition  to  the  ecumenical  councils. 
They  form  simply  a  r clique  of  anti(iuity. 

From  statements  made  it  follows,  that  the  ability 
to  transmit  new  revelations  to  the  Church  did  not 
belong  to  the  councils;  rather  are  the  same  rendered 
legitimate  through  the  preservation  of  the  apostolic 
legacy.  Therefore  did  the  declaration  and  adoption 
of  new  formulas  {oi  the  o/woo(tco<^^  of  the  oneness  of 
the  trinity,  of  the  two  natures,  and  so  on)  cause 
such  great  difficulties.  When  at  last  the  Nicene 
doctrine  gained  the  victory,  it  was  accomplished  only 
because  the  Nicene  creed  itself  had  become  a  piece 
of  antiquity  and  because  one  endeavored,  poorly 
enough,  to  deduce  from  the  Nicene  all  later  formulas 
by  giving  out  (as  Irenn?us  had  once  done)  asj;rf- 
scribedj  together  with  the  text,  also  a  definite  expo- 
sition of  the  same.  The  ability  of  the  councils  even 
to  explain  the  doctrines  authentically  had  not  been 
clearly  declared  in  the  Orient;  therefore  the  excuse 
has  onlj  seldom  been  made  for  the  earlier  eastern 
fathers,  that  at  their  time  the  dogma  had  not  been 
explained  and  definitely  formulated.  Whereas  a 
western  man  (Vincent  of  Lorinunip)  in  his  Coni- 
monitorium,  after  having  asserted  the  criteria  of  plnj^n."sin 
the  true  tradition  (that  which  has  ]>vou  believed 
everywhere,  always  and  l)y  all),  and  after  having 
warned  men  against  the  heresies  of  otherwise  ortho- 


Vincent   of 
Leriimin; 


1 

h    ■ 

i. 

1 

I 

f 


I"*    . 

I»    * 

'M 

• ;« 

;':i.    ■    ■,-'•   ■ 

.^Oi   •      i   .i.il 

..•,.,ll            1 

"n    •■ 

li.,Jii  ; 

-  M'     j 

!■■;«'■  ; 

'"i^'l  1 

'„  i'*i|                       1    ; 

:>  ! 

|8!::i' 

'fi'ci 

! 
1 

■--.;* 


*  ; 'SI 


;■  i       ) 


I'lii 


1^ 


.1 


Idea  of 

Tradition 

Vague. 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


dox  fathers,  mlmitted  an  "  organic  "  progress  in  doc- 
trine (from  the  more  uncertain  to  the  more  certain) 
and  proclaimed  tlio  councils  as  agents  in  this 
progress  {"^ cvcitnta  hcvreticornm  novitatihns^"). 
Augustine  expressly  taught,  that  so  long  as  luieipiiv- 
ocal  decisions  on  a  question  had  not  been  given,  ilio 
bond  of  union  between  dissenting  bishops  shoul(^.  bo 
maintained.  The  Roman  bishop  has  always  acted 
according  to  this  rule,  but  has  reserved  for  himself 
the  decisions  and  the  time  for  the  same. 

The  conception  of  tradition  is  therefore  entirely 
vague.  The  hierarchical  element  does  not  play  i)i 
theorfj  the  first  part.  The  apostolic  succession  has 
even  in  the  Occident  not  been  in  theory  of  such  great 
importance  for  the  confirming  of  tradition.  At  the 
councils,  since  the  time  they  were  called,  the  author- 
ity of  the  bishoi^s  as  bearers  of  tradition  was  ex- 
hausted. Still,  perhaps  that  is  saying  too  much. 
Everything  w^as  very  obscure.  But  in  so  far  as  the 
Greek  Church  has  not  changed  since  John  of  Damas- 
cus, the  Greek  even  at  the  present  time  has  a  per- 
fectly definite  consciousness  of  the  foundation  of 
religion.  By  the  side  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the 
foundation  of  religion  is  the  Church  itself,  not  as  liv- 
ing power,  but  in  its  immovable  doctrines  and  time- 
honored  orders.  The  Scriptures  also  are  to  be  ex- 
plained according  to  tradition.  But  the  tradition  is 
primarily  always  two-fold, — the  public  one  of  the 
councils  and  fathers,  and  the  secret  one  which  con- 
firms the  mysteries,  their  ritual  and  its  interpretation. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     223 


V- 

lO- 
X- 

is 
le 
n- 
11. 


o.  The  Clinrch.  As  guarantee  of  tlio  tnio  faith, 
and  administrator  of  11k'  mysteries,  theClunrh  above 
all  came  into  consideration.  Furthermore,  men  re- 
flected about  it  when  they  thouj^ht  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  false  church  of  the  Jews,  of  heresy  and  the 
organization  of  Christianity,  as  also  of  tlio  presump- 
tion of  the  Roman  bishop  (Christ  alone  is  the  head 
of  the  Church).  Again,  the  Church  was  represented 
in  catechetical  instruction  as  the  communion  of  the 
true  faith  and  virtue,  outside  of  which  there  cculd 
not  easily  be  a  wise  and  pious  pers(jn,  and  the  Bibli- 
cal declaration  regarding  it  was  that  it  was  the  only 
and  holy  one,  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  Catholic 
in  opposition  to  the  numerous  impious  unions  of  the 
heretics.  A'"ery  evidently  men  identified  thereby  the 
empirical  church  with  the  Church  of  the  faith  and 
virtue,  without,  liowever,  coming  to  a  closer  reflec- 
tion on  corpus  roruni  et  pennixtum  and  without 
drawing  all  the  consecpiencos  which  the  identification 
demanded.  In  spite  of  all  this  the  Church  was  not 
primarily  a  dogmatic  conception,  Ix  longing  to  the 
department  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation  itself ;  or  it 
became  so  only  when  men  thought  of  it  as  the  insti- 
tution of  mysteries,  from  ^vhich,  moreover,  the  monk 
was  permitted  to  emancipate  himself.  Through  the 
restrictions  under  which  the  Greeks  viewed  the  duties 
of  the  Church  and  through  the  natural  theology, 
is  this  disregard  to  be  explained.  The  Church  is 
the  human  race  as  the  totality  of  all  individuals  who 
accept  salvation.    The  doctrini;  of  salvation  exiiausted 


Clmrcli 

fiiianmlfc 

of  Trut'. 

Fuith. 


Empirical 
Church  iukI 
('htin-h  of 

Fuith 
Idciitilied. 


m 


Ji 


':^' 

•'i;^i 


I 


^ '   '3 


\i 


\-\ 


w- 


224        OUTLINES   OF   THK    HISTORY    OF    l)()(;MA. 


Pnp?nat  ic 

l(lfll    of 

I'hiircli 
Not  Fixi'il. 


\V«'stt»rn 

Chiircli 

Wi'a  Dc- 

velopinj^. 


itHolf  in  the  roncoptioiiH :  God,  luimanily,  Christ,  tho 
mystoi'it's,  tlio  individiuil.  Tho  coiicoi)tioii  of  tho 
Church  as  tho  motluu'  of  boliovors,  as  a  diviiio  crea- 
tion, as  tho  body  of  Christ  was  not  worktul  out  dog- 
matically. Tho  mystical  doctrine  of  redemption  also 
and  tho  doctrine  of  the  eucharist  did  not  assist  tho 
Church  to  a  dogmatic  position  (it  is  wanting,  for  ox- 
ample,  in  John  of  Damascus).  Its  organization, 
thorough  as  it  is,  was  not  perfected  beyond  the  grade 
of  bishops  and  was  seldom  treated  dogmatically.  Tho 
Church  is  not  the  becpiest  of  tho  apostles,  but  of 
Christ;  therefore  its  importance  as  an  institution  of 
worship  takes  the  first  rank. 

All  this  has  reference  to  the  Oriental  Church.  In 
the  Occident,  through  the  Donatist  contest,  the 
foundation  was  laid  by  the  Church  for  new  and  rich 
conceptions.  The  Church  itself  was  at  tho  end  of 
the  early  period  divided  into  three  great  parts :  The 
western  Church,  the  Bj'zantine,  the  Semitic  eastern ; 
and  the  latter  was  cleft  into  manifold  parts.  Each 
part  considered  itself  the  one  Catholic  Church  and 
extolled  its  particular  palladia. 


A.  THE  PRESUPPOSITIONS  OF  THE  DOCTRINE 
OF  SALVATION,  OR    NATURAL  THEOLOGY. 


Natural 
TliiMilojjy. 


Natural  theok)gy  with  all  the  fathers  was  essen- 
tially the  same  thing;  but  it  shows  shades  according 
as  Platonism  or  Aristotelianism  j)redominated  and  ac- 


rl|: 


1)Kvi:l()I'mp:nt  of  ixx  tkinf-:  of  in(  aijnation.    'i'ib 


cordinj^   to  tlio  nioasurc  in  wliicli  the  letter  of  tbo 
Bible  exerted  an  influence. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


:-n ; 


ni- 


!«»• 


lic- 


TTIE    rRESL'PPOSTTIOXS    AND    CON'CEPTIONS   OF   (JOD, 
THE   CUEATOK,    AS   DISPENSER   OF   SALVATION. 

The  main  itriiK'inles  of  tho  doctrino  of  Ciod,  as  the  I'ortrin.'of 

*  '^  (i(mI. 

apologists  and  anti-gnostic  fathers  had  ostablislicd 
them,  remained  firm  and  wore  directed  i)articnlarly 
against  Manichaiism,  but  were  hardly  touched  l)y  tho 
development  of  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity,  since  tlie 
Father  as  /''-■^rj  zr;^  ^'hoTr/Tog  alone  came  into  considera- 
tion here.  Yet  with  ^he  growing  Biblicism  and  the 
monkish  barbarism,  anthropomorphic  conceptions 
forced  themselves  more  and  more  into  theology. 
Concerning  the  ({uestion  of  man's  ability  to  know 
God,  Aristotelians  (Eunomius,  Diodorus  of  Tarsus, 
especially  since  the  beginning  of  the  0th  century)  and 
Platonists  contended  with  each  other,  and  yet  were 
fundamentally  agreed.  That  man  k:iows  God  only  '^",?j,^|^*)If  *' 
through  revelation,  more  exactly  through  Christ,  was 
generally  allowed,  but  to  this  declaration  as  a  rule 
no  further  consequences  were  given  and  men  as- 
cended from  the  world  to  G(xl,  making  use  of  the 
old  proofs  and  supplementing  them  with  the  ontolog- 
ical  argument  (Augustine).  Neo- Platonic  theolo- 
gians assumed  an  immediate,  intuitive  perception  of 

God  of  the  highest  order,  but  they  nevertheless  per- 
15 


God. 


.:  • 


» 


fl 


,!  i 


11 


'I 

'I  .A 


fe:. 


t  hi 

If 


1^  Ji'i  ii ' 


■ 


1 . 


«     1l» 


% 


!■-   1 


Ni'pativo 

AttriliulcH 

Kmi>li(i- 

Si/AMl, 


2:.*n        Ol'TUNKS   OF   Tin:    HISTORY    OK   DO(i.M.\. 

footed  very  pnjcisfly  tlio  Hcliolastic  form  of  this 
knowledge)  (tho  Arcopagite:  Negation,  exaltation, 
causality). 

Tli(!  loftiest  expression  for  the  being  of  God  was 
as  yet  that  ho  is  "not-tho-world",  tho  spiritual, 
immortal,  apathetic  rhihstanco  (tho  "^^v),  to  which 
alono  real  being  belongs  (Aristotelians  thought  of 
cause  and  puriiose,  without  correcting  radically 
tho  Platonic  scheme).  His  goodness  is  perfection, 
unenviousness  and  creating  will  (additions  leading 
to  a  better  conception  by  Augustine:  God  as  love, 
which  frees  men  from  self-seeking).  The  attributes 
of  God  were  treated  accordingly  as  expressions  of 
causality  and  power,  in  which  the  purpose  of  salva- 
tion was  not  taken  into  account  (Origen's  conception 
became  tempered,  i.e.  corrected).  By  tho  side  of  the 
Moral  At-  naturalistic  concei)tion  of  God  as  tho  "f>v  stood  the 
moralistic  one  of  Rewarder  and  Judge;  upon  this 
also  the  idea  of  redemption  had  hardlj'^  any  notice- 
able intluenco  (less  than  with  Origen),  since  "re- 
ward "  and  "  punishment "  were  treated  as  one.  Yet 
Augustine  recognized  the  worthlossness  of  a  theol- 
ogy which  places  God  only  at  the  beginning  and  the 
end  and  makes  men  independent  of  him,  instead  of 
acknowledging  God  as  tho  Power  for  good  and  the 
Source  of  the  personal,  blessed  life. 

The  cosmology  of  tho  fathers  may  be  thus  stated : 
God,  who  has  carried  in  himself  the  world-idea  from 
eternity,  has  through  the  Ijogos,  which  embraces  all 
ideas,  in  free  self-determination  created  in  six  days 


tributes. 


Cosmology 
of  Fathers. 


I>KVKI,(M'MKNT   OV    DnCTIMXK   OK    INCAHNATTnV.     'i'27 


Iff 


thu 


lis 


re- 

lYet 


the 

Id  of 

the 


Ited : 
•cm 
all 

ciys 


out  of  nothing'  tlii.s  world,  wliicli  lias  had  n  iH'^itmiiijjj 
and  will  havo  an  ctid ;  it  was  cn^itcd  after  the  pat- 
tern of  an  upper  world,  which  was  hrouj^ht  f«»i'th  Ity 
him,  and  has  its  ridniination  in  man  in  order  to 
prove  his  own  kindness  and  to  permit  creatures  to 
participate  in  his  bliss.  In  this  thesis  the  lieresies 
of  Origon  were  set  aside  (especially  his  pessimism). 
Still  men  did  not  succeed  in  entirely  justifying;  the 
verbal  meaning  of  Gen.  1-;J,  and  in  the  representa-  <^''"  im 
tion  of  an  ui)per  world  {xnTfun;  vn^fn'i^^)^  whose  lesser 
copy  the  earthly  is,  there  remained  a  significant 
piece  of  the  Neo-Platonic-Ongenistic  doctrine,  which 
was  then  greatly  amplified,  after  the  Areopagite,  by 
the  Platonizing  mystics.  But  the  pantheistic  hore- 
sios  were  scarcely  felt  thereafter,  if  only  in  some 
way  the  verbal  meaning  of  Gen.  1-3  seemed  to  bo 
preserved.  The  theodicy — still  always  necessary  on  Thoodioy. 
account  of  Manichseism  and  fatalism — sought  to  hold 
its  ground  through  empirical  considerations,  but 
since  it  too  must  be  natural  theology  it  revealed  its 
ancient  root  in  an  oft-estranging  casuistry  and  in 
doubtful  claims.  Men  referred  to  the  necessity  and 
fitness  of  the  freedom  of  the  creature  which  must 
have  as  a  consequence  wickedness  and  evil,  to  the 
harmlessness  of  evil  for  the  soul,  to  the  unreality  of 
wickedness  and  to  the  value  of  evil  as  a  means  of 
purification. 

In  regard  to  the  heavenly  spirits  the   following  ^^^l*"^''^ 
])oints  were  settled:  That  they  were  created  by  (j|od, 
that  they  are  free  and   lack   material  bodies,  that 


li 


'  I* 

1" 

<• 

'% 

.'•-II 

..,11 


■a 


!     I 


.5  '■ 


I 


l^^'i<m 


*»» 


m 


',\  I' 


!.[ 


Vcnoratioii 
of   Anp'ls. 


2C8        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

tUoy  have  passed  through  a  crisis  in  which  a  part 
have  fallen,  that  God  uses  tlio  good  spirits  as  instru- 
ments in  governing  the  world,  that  the  existence  of 
wickedness  in  the  world  is  to  be  traced  back  to  the 
v/icked  spirits,  whom  God  allows  to  have  their  way 
and  who  are  incorrigible  and  have  almost  unlimited 
power  over  the  world  which  only  the  cross  can  break 
and  who  are  going  to  receive  d'lmnation  (against 
Origon).  After  the  4th  century,  however,  the  poly- 
theistic t'.'ndency  became  stronger  and  stronger 
toward  angels  and  demons,  and  already  by  about  400 
A.  D.  the  piety  of  monks  and  laymen  was  nourished 
more  by  tliese  than  by  God.  While  tiie  synod  of 
J^aodicea  about  3()0  declared  angel- worship  to  be  idol- 
atry, still  the  veneration  of  angels  became  more  firmly 
established  (guardian-angels,  faith  in  their  interces- 
sion) and  was  ecclesiastically  fixed  at  the  7th  council, 
78  ('  {-f>(>(TX'')vrj(T','i) .  It  contributed  much  ioward  this, 
that  the  "  scientific  "  theology  in  the  form  of  the  Neo- 
Platonic  mysticism,  after  about  500,  incrdased  the 
esteem  given  to  angels,  and  that  they  were  received 
into  the  system  as  most  important  factors  (but  see 
alread}^  the  Alexandrian  theologians) :  The  angels  in 
graded  ranks  are,  on  the  one  side,  the  unfolding  of 
the  heaveidy,  on  the  other,  the  mediators  between 
the  hejivenly  and  men.  To  the  earthly  hierarchy  with 
its  grades,  agencies  and  consecrations,  corresponds  a 
heavenly,  graded  hierarch}'  ^v^th  heaveidy  sacrifices, 
intercessions,  etc. ;  in  divine  worship  both  unite 
(vid.  the   Areopagite   and   his   expounders).     Thus 


'1 1 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF    INC'ARNATiON.     2'20 

arose — truly  aftor  U)iig  pivi)aratic»:i — a  now  ecclesi-    ^^'^"l"-'.";*;',"'^' 
astical  Jieosopliy  which  was  ])iii\'lyi)agan  and  wiiitli      "'^^"i">'' 
was  finally  a  shamefaced  expression  for  jiigglering 
the  idea  of  creation  and  redemption  and  for  reviving 
the  fantastic  pantheism  which  the  bizarre  theosophy 
of  perishing  antiqnity  had  created  :  E^'erything  that 
exists  streams  out  from  God  in  manifold  ratliations 
and  must,  since  it  is  remote  and  isolated,  be  jjurifi 
and  returned  to  God.     This  has  taken  place  in  nec- 
ess'tri;  processes  which  were  so  represented  that  all 
needs,  even  the  most  barbaric,  v.'ere  taken  into  con- 
sideration, and  all  authorities   and  ft)rms  were  re- 
spected.    But  the  living  God,  besides  whom  the  soul 
possesses  nothing,  threatened  thereby  to  disai)pear. 


CHAPTER  V. 


!. 

'  ^ 

1' 

♦  ■ 

f 


ll 


eo- 
tlio 
ved 
see 
s  in 
of 
een 
ith 
Is  a 


THE    PRESUPPOSITIONS    AND     CONCEPTIONS    OF    MAN 
AS   THE   RECIPIENT   OF   SALVATION. 

The  common  conviction  of  the  orthodox   fathers  Doctrine  of 

Muii. 

may  be  stated  somewhat  as  follows:  ]\Ian,  created 
after  the  image  of  God,  is  a  free  self -determining 
being.  He  has  been  endowed  with  reason,  in  order 
to  decide  in  favov  of  the  good  and  to  enjoy  immortal 
life.  Having  indulged  himself  and  still  ever  in- 
dulging himself  in  sin,  misled,  or  of  his  own  free 
will,  he  has  missed  tliis  destination  without,  how- 
ever, having  forfeited  the  pri\'ilege  and  power  of  a 
vi:^tuous    life  and    the    capability  of    immortality. 


^'     1 

9\  '  ,'''   .i 

if 

f 
f 

J 

.  a  ' 

i 
\ 
i     • 

A 


Points 
under 
Considera- 
tion. 


Idea  of 

Niitural 

Freedouj 

Central. 


2;jo 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA, 


Through  ihc  (*hiistiaii  rcvohition,  which  comes  to 
the  aid  of  the  darkened  reason  with  full  knowledge 
of  God,  that  ability  has  been  strengthened  and  the 
immortality  restored  and  proffered.  Upon  good  or 
evil  therefore  the  judgment  decides.  The  will  has, 
strictly  speaking,  no  moral  quality.  In  regard  to 
details  there  were  varying  opinions :  ( 1 )  What  was 
the  original  inheritance  of  man,  and  what  his  desti- 
nation? (2)  How  far  does  nature  go,  and  where  does 
the  gift  of  grace  begin?  (;))  How  far-reaching  are 
the  consequences  of  sin?  (4)  Is  mere  freedom  char- 
acteristic of  the  being  of  man,  or  does  it  inhere  in 
his  nature  to  be  good?  (5)  Into  what  elements  is 
the  human  personality  to  be  divided?  ((5)  In  what 
does  the  Divine  likeness  consist?  and  so  forth. 

The  various  answers  are  all  compromises;  (a)  be- 
tween the  religious-scientific  theory  (doctrine  of  Ori- 
gen)  and  Gen.  l-o ;  (h)  between  the  moralistic  con- 
siderations and  a  regard  for  the  redemption  through 
Christ;  (c)  between  dualism  and  the  recognition  of 
the  body  as  a  necessary  and  good  organ. 

1.  The  idea  of  inborn  freedom  is  central ;  with  it 
reason  is  included.  It  constitutes  the  Divine  im- 
age, which  therefore  means  independence  as  regnrds 
God.  Whether  there  belongs  to  the  nature  of  man 
only  the  sensuousness  of  the  creature,  or  whether 
he  is  endowed  with  reason  and  even  immortalit}^, 
remained  in  controvers3\  However,  the  controversy 
was  quite  immaterial,  since  the  glorious  nature  of 
man  was   after  all  ever  considered  a  gift  of  grace, 


«1BS^S 


^fe^TTl' 


aiffii 


I  -; 

i      1 

\ 
1 

r 

i 

■11^ 

it 


ler 


DKVRLOrMENT   OF    DOCTRTNK   OF   INCARNATION.     21)1 

and  this  gift  of  grace  was  c'()nsi<lore(l  hy  the  majority 
as  natural.  The  heing  of  man  was  represented  as 
trichotomous,  by  others  as  dichotomous.  The  Greek-  or^glnhitic 
Origenistic  conception  of  the  body  as  a  prison  was  Rejected" 
finally  officially  rejected — man  is  rather,  even  as  a 
spiritual  being,  a  microcosm  and  the  body  is  also 
God-given  —  but  the  same  never  ceased  to  have 
an  after-effect,  because  the  positive  morality  was 
always  obliged  to  give  way  to  the  negative  (asceti- 
cism),  I.e.,  because  it  received  in  the  conception  of 
the  opera  supererogatoria  an  ascetic  cast.  The 
late^'  Noo-Platonic  mysteriosophists,  indeed,  knew 
how  to  make  good  use  of  the  idea  of  the  glorification 
of  the  body,  but  in  truth  the  corporeal  was  still  con- 
sidered by  them  as  something  to  be  "absorbed,"  even 
though  they  no  longer  dared  to  shake  the  verbal  mean- 
ing of  the  formula  of  the  "resurrection  of  the  body". 

Concerning  the  origin  of  individual  souls  (the  soul  ^sS"'^ 
is  no  part  of  God;  but  in  reality  many  theosophists 
after  all  considered  it  as  such)  the pre-existent  view 
of  Origen  was  expressly  condemned,  553,  but  the 
traducian  theory  was  not  able  to  carry  the  day; 
rather  did  the  creation  theory  (continued  creation 
of  individual  souls)  become  dominant. 

As  regards  the  God-likeness,  men  still  continued    [?[,if,!"lJ 
in  the  antinomy,  that  goodness  and  purity  can   bo    ^*"'^'*''"" 
the  product  only  of  human  freedom ;  that,  however, 
the   likeness   imprinted    by  creation   cannot   reside 
in  the  possibilitas  iitriusque,  but  in  a  determina- 
Hon  of  reason  and  freedom,  and  that  it  has  in  part 


•3' 
■^11 


I 


f 


\ 

I       « 


W 


(I 


!'  i 


la  It 


•li,i 


H '  'i\ 


'•■'.1 


•,  'fi  J 


i:' 


Theories 

Regardin}? 

Origin  of 

Siu. 


232 


OUTLTXES    OF   TITE    HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


, 


been  lost.  According!}'  the  conceptions  also  regard- 
ing the  primitive  condition  of  man  were  as  hazy 
as  by  Irenrens.  On  the  one  side,  the  perfection  of 
man  was  siiid  to  have  been  practically  realized  at 
the  beginning  and  was  later  restored  by  (Jhrist;  on 
the  other,  the  primitive  condition  was  said  to  have 
been  the  child-like  state  out  of  which  man  had  first 
to  develop  himself  unto  perfection  and  which  he 
therefore  in  reality  could  never  lose,  but  only  im- 
prove (thus  especially  and  emphatically  the  Antio- 
cliians).  The  Cappadocians  still  taught  in  the  main 
much  like  Origen ;  but  later  men  were  forced  to  bind 
themselves  strictly  to  Genesis,  and  the  speculative 
conceptions  were  cultivated  as  much  as  the  rational- 
istic ones  of  the  Antiochians.  Doubts  about  the 
primitive  condition  of  man  resulted  in  indefinite  con- 
ceptions of  asceticism,  which  have  never  b'^en  cleared 
up  in  the  Greek  Church :  Some  saw  in  asceticism 
the  natural  constitutional  condition  of  man,  others 
(especially  the  Aniriochians)  conceived  of  it  as  some- 
thing supei'terrestrial  and  superhuman. 

2.  It  was  acknowledged  that  the  human  race  since 
its  origin,  i.e.  since  Adam  (express  rejection  in  the 
Gth  century  of  the  doctrine  of  Origen  as  tc  the 
fall  in  a  pre-existent  state),  has  turned  away  from 
the  good  (cause:  Not  a  created  sinful  power,  not 
matter,  not  the  Divinity,  not  inheritance  of  the  sin 
of  Adam — Adam  was  for  the  majority  the  type,  not 
the  progenitor  of  sinners, — but  abuse  of  freedom  by 
reason  of  demoniac  betrayal,  and  transmission   of 


t  III  Jin  It  atiiMiijijingggii 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCAKNATION.     2;J3 


f   '1 


W 


Ot'iicsis 
Rnimuis  V. 


bad  customs.  Besides,  indeed,  with  the  majority  tlie 
unsubdued  thought  still  remained  in  the  background, 
that  the  inducement  to  turn  from  God  comes  with  a 
certain  necessitj'  from  the  sensuous  nature  and  the 
creature  infirmities  of  man ;  that  is,  from  a  conjoin- 
ing of  the  man  and  his  liability  to  death — be  it  nat- 
ural (the  Antiochians),  or  acquired  through  nus- 
takes,  or  inherited.  One  finds,  therefore,  in  the  same 
fathers  the  contradictory  expressions,  that  goodness 
is  natural  to  man  and  that  sin  is  natural  to  him). 
Genesis  and  Rom.  5  forced  the  Greeks  more  and 
more  to  give  to  the  fall  of  Adam,  agjiinst  their  eni- 
pirico-rationalistic  theory,  a  world-historic  impor- 
tance. But  the  Augustinian  doctrine  of  hereditary 
sin  they  have  not  accepted  during  all  the  cen- 
turies; they  have  even  declared  it  plainly  to  be  Mani- 
chceism.  Therefore,  since  they  were  prevented  from 
supporting  tlie  Origenistic  doctrine,  and  since  the 
Bible  forbade  the  conseciuent  rationalism  of  the 
Antiochian  theologians,  they  remained  involved  in 
nothing  but  uncertainties.  Most  of  them  proclaimed 
universal  mortality  (hereditary  death),  the  darken- 
ing of  knowledge  (therefore  polytheism)  and  a  cer- 
tain weakening  of  freedom  on  account  of  the  fall  of 
Adam,  enlarging  the  latter  even  to  almost  complete 
loss  of  freedom  when  they  thought  of  the  work  of 
Christ,  but  hardly  mentioning  it  when  they  wrote 
against  the  Manichseans.  But  since  they  never  in-  ^i^yJ^t'S"^^*^ 
tended  to  put  in  the  place  of  the  moral  idea  of  sin 
the  religious,  and  since  the  philosophumenon,  evil  is 


J. 


ik 


,1 


,i 


r! 


■i:-  *.< 


Il   f- 


*  1     l\ 


Natural 

Theology 

Domiuates. 


Redemp- 
tion  Natu- 
ralistic. 


Man 

Related   to 

God  only 

as  Creature 

to  Creator. 


Doctrine  of 
Uod 
Rational- 
ized. 


234        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

the  noii-bciiij^,  never  entirely  left  their  memory,  and 
since  they  always  felt  the  conse(iiieiiccs  of  sin  more 
severely  than  sin  itself — to  which  consideration  their 
conception  of  the  work  of  Christ  also  led  them — they 
were  never  able  to  give  to  the  gravity  of  sin,  i.e.  to 
guilt.,  a  satisfactory  expression:  Sin  is  a  bad  single 
deed ;  it  is  accident  and  again  fatality ;  it  is  the  con- 
sequence of  the  liability  to  death ;  but  it  is  not  the 
dreadful  power  which  destroys  union  with  God. 

The  influence  of  natural  theology  (and  of  the 
rationalism  and  mysticism  akin  to  it),  pre-eminent 
in  the  doctrine  of  God  and  man,  upon  the  actual 
dogmatic  teaching  was  fundamental: 

(1)  Man  is  led  through  redemption  to  that  des- 
tination which  he  can  also  reach  by  virtue  of  his 
freedom  (danger,  that  of  looking  upon  redemj^tion 
merely  as  an   assistance) ; 

{'I)  Man,  as  the  image  of  God,  an  independent 
being  also  as  regards  God,  can  have  no  other  rela- 
tions to  him  than  as  to  the  Creator  and  Judge ;  God 
himself  is  not  his  life,  but  the  law  of  God  is  his  rule 
of  conduct  (danger,  that  of  looking  upon  the  Gospel 
and  salvation  as  knowledge  and  law,  upon  punish- 
ment as  the  greatest  misfortune,  and  upon  repent- 
ance as  the  cause  of  pardon) ; 

(:j)  The  doctrines  also  regarding  God,  the  Redeem- 
er, must  needs  be  treated  according  to  the  rationalis- 
tic scheme  (rationality  of  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity, 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  etc.) ; 

(4)  In  the  last  analysis  man  can  gather  nothing 


DKVKI.OI'MKXT    OF    DOCTKINK    OK    INCARNATION.     2:55 


from  history;  but  to  liistory,  iiuUvd,  belongs  the 
Xnyu'i  hnaiixii'i ;  tliG  view  tlioivfoiv  was  iiot  entirely  re- 
jected, that  there  is  r.  standpoint  from  which  the 
historical  Christ,  since  he  is  only  un  assisting 
teacher,  has  no  nieanii^g:  ]Man,  who  through  gnosis 
and  asceticism  has  become  a  UKjral  hert),  stands  free 
by  the  side  of  God ;  he  loves  God  and  God  loves  him ; 
in  him  will  a  Christ  be  born.  The  most  vital  piety 
of  the  Greek  fathers  and  the  most  energetic  attempt 
to  make  themselves  at  homo  in  religion,  have  even 
been  the  least  safeguard  against  their  losing  the 
historical  Christ.  Still  it  was  a  danger  which  only 
threatened.  Divinity  has  descended,  God  has  become 
man  in  the  historical  Jesus;  faith  in  this  immense 
fact — "  the  newest  of  all  the  new,  yes,  the  only  new 
fact  under  the  sun  "  (John  of  Damascus) — as  well  as 
the  mystery  and  terror  of  death  restricted  all  ration- 
alism. Man  must  be  redeemed  and  has  been  re- 
deemed. 


B.  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  REDEMPTION  THROUGH 
THE  PERSON  OF  THE  GOD-MAN  IN  ITS  HIS- 
TORICAL   DEVELOPMENT. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  NECESSITY  AND  REALITY 
OF  REDEMPTION  THROUGH  THE  INCARNATION 
OF  THE  SON   OF  GOD. 


Ilistoriral 
Christ  l>f- 
preoiutt'd. 


^    i 


w    ■ 


!'  I 


I 
J 


I    !• 


The  incarnation  of  God  alone  balanced  the  whole  ^-'^•'•"'■*  ""^ 


system  of  natural  theology. 


Value   (if 
ImuriKi- 

iiecause  men  believeu       tiou. 


'  '^ 


+4 


I!     1 


t 


'    " 


Athana- 

sius" 

TJH'ory  of 

Incariui- 

tiun. 


Two 

Results 

Secured. 


'■I'M'i        OUTLINES   OF   Tin-:    IIISTOKY    OF    IXXJMA. 

ill  its  reality,  ihoy  also  asserted  its  necessity.  Tliey 
referred  it  to  deatli,  to  the  dominion  of  demons,  to 
sin  and  error,  and  not  seldom  in  this  connection  they 
made,  regarding  the  wickedness  of  man,  assertions 
which  recall  Augustine.  But  when  a  definite  theory 
was  given,  the  idea  of  the  aholition  of  perishableness 
and  of  the  sting  of  death  'done  held  out;  for  the 
doctrines  oi  frecd()in  excluded  an  (vxplation  of  sin 
and,  on  the  other  side,  brought  home  the  thought 
that  heart-felt  repentance  before  (j(»(1  frees  from  sin 
(thus,  t^.f/.  Athanasius,  do  iiicarn.  VII.).  After  Ire- 
najus,  Athanasius  first  >  rt)poundeil  a  definite  theory 
of  the  incarnati(m  (1.  c.).  He  bases  it,  on  the  one 
hand,  upoi)  the  goodness  /f  God,  i.e.,  upon  his  self 
assertion  and  honor;  on  the  otlie)',  upon  the  conse- 
quences oi  sin,  i.e.  perishableness.  These  the  Logos 
only  is  able  to  remove,  who  also  originally  created 
everything  out  of  nothing.  Regarding  the  means, 
Athanasius  has  recourse  to  all  the  Biblical  concep- 
tions (sacrificial  death,  expiation  of  guilt,  etc.) ;  but 
he  onl}^  carries  out  sti'ictly  the  thout;ht,  that  in  the 
act  of  incarnation  itself  lies  the  changing  from  the 
doom  of  death  to  a(f>'h/.f>fTia,  in  so  far  as  the  physical 
union  of  the  human  with  the  Divine  (the  dwelling  of 
God  in  the  flesh)  elevates  humanity  into  the  sphere 
of  bliss  and  of  the  nfffhiiKria.  The  conseqaence  of 
the  incarnation  is,  therefore,  primarily  a  transfox'- 
mation  into  the  imperishable  (renewal  of  the  Divine 
likeness),  but  secondarily  also  the  restoriiig  of  the 
knowledge  of  God,  in  so  far  as  the  earthly  appe<ir- 


1' 


DEVEI.OrMENT   OF   DOf'TRTNE   OF   INCAKNATION.     2'\7 


anceof  Divinity  ^iu  Christ)  mak(  s  Divinity  recogniz- 
able to  the  dullest  eye  ami  thereby  eradicates  poly- 
theism. Athanasius,  in  disserting  this  double  result, 
was  also  able  to  explain  the  particular  result  of  tlie 
incarnation :  Only  those  are  benefited  by  it  who 
know  Ood  and  who  regulate  their  lives  according  to 
this   knowledge.     The   ai)otheosis  of  human  nature  nHnoatinn 

*^  *  of  liiiiiiiin- 

(participation  in  Clod  through  son-ship)  and  not  "/i'ohi't!" 
knowledge  was  to  Athanasius  the  main  point. 
Therefore  his  whole  concern  was  with  the  exact 
determining  of  the  (juestion,  how  the  Divine  which 
became  man  was  constituted,  and  into  what  con- 
nections with  humanity  he  entered.  On  the  con- 
trary the  Arians  and,  later,  the  Antiochians  placed 
the  principal  stress  upon  the  knowledge;  they  i)erse- 
vered  in  the  rationalistic  scheme.  ( )n  that  very  ac- 
count they  had  not  in  general  a  decided  interest  ir 
the  two  (juestions,  and  when  tliey  had,  they  answt:  '■ 
them  in  another  way.  It  is  plain  that  the  great 
dogmatic  contentions  have  their  root  herein  :  f^'ub- 
stantial  participation  in  God,  or  knowledge  of  him 
which  assists  freedom — Christ  the  Divinitv,  or  the 
intelligent  Reason  of  the  world  and  the  Divine 
Teacher — Christ  the  inseparable  God-man,  or  the 
inspired  man  and  the  dual  Being.  Athanasius  had 
on  his  side  the  highest  Greek  piety,  his  opponents 
the  more  intelligible  formulas  and,  in  part,  the  letter 
of  the  Bible. 

No  other  Greek  father  has  answered  the  (luestion     ^y''\  P''' 
why  God   became   man   so  cU'arly   as  Athanasius.   ''""""'  '^^'"'' 


Uont  of 
DoKHintic 
Conten- 
tions. 


r 
''I  ■ 


i' 


II 


!'  I 


it 


\  ■ 

'I 


I-  -.Wirt  ill  I 


»i 


\T 


^;]H        OUTLINKS   OV   TIFK   IIFSTOKY   OF    DOGMA. 


firoRory  (if 
NyHsa. 


Incarna- 
tion Only 
Fully  Ac- 
coniplislit'd 
in  Ri'siir- 
rection. 


l'li\  sico- 
Phaniiaco- 
lotrical 
I'rocfss. 


Pantheistic 
Element. 


Next  to  him  conu'S  tho  Platonist,  (Irogoiy  nf  Nyssa 
(larg<^  catocliisin) ,  sinco  in  general  tho  whole  concep- 
tion of  (loc;trino  is  possible  only  upon  tho  basis  of  Pla- 
t(jnisni.  Gregory  at  some  points  strengthened  the 
deductions,  in  iiiany  instances,  however,  he  followed 
Methodius.  In  contending  with  Jews  and  pagans 
he  shows  that  the  incarnation  is  the  best  form  of 
redemption;  he  conceives  the  whole  sinful  state  as 
death,  and  gives,  therefore,  to  this  conception  a  wider 
scope  (all  turning  away  from  G(xl  to  the  non-exist- 
ent sensuous  is  death) ;  he  viewed  the  incarnation  as 
fully  accomplished  first  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
(Origonistic  declaration:  Redemption  presupposes 
separation  from  the  body) ;  he  expressly  taught  that 
Christ  did  not  assume  the  nature  of  an  individual 
man,  but,  as  second  Adam,  human  nature  itself,  so 
that  according  to  this  mystic-Platonic  view,  every- 
thincj  human  has  blended  with  tho  Divinity;  he  con- 
ceived of  the  whole  strictly  as  a  physico-pharmacolog- 
ical  process :  Humanity  became  thoroughly  pene- 
trated by  the  leaven  of  Divinity  (the  counter-weight 
is  the  demand  for  the  spontaneous  fulfilling  of  the 
law) ;  he  brought  the  sacraments  into  the  closest  re- 
lation with  the  incarnation.  But,  finally,  he  gave  a 
pantheistic  turn  to  this  realistic  and,  to  all  rational- 
ism, apparently  hostile  idea,  which  deprives  it  of  its 
peculiarity  and  is  quite  in  accord  with  a  rationalis- 
tic conception :  Christ's  incarnation  is  an  act  of 
(cosmic  importance;  it  n>aches  as  reconciliation  and 
restitutit)n  over  the  whole  world  from  the  highest 


DKVELOl'MENT   UV   DOC  IK  INK   OF    INCAIJNATION.     2.il) 


■ill' 


anj^cls  down  to  the  (Iccpcst  (l('i)ths.  Thus  it  dis- 
solves, as  with  Origi'ii,  into  a  necessary  cosmical 
process;  it  l)econies  a  special  case  of  tlie  {jjenerai 
omniproscnco  of  the  Divine  in  creation.  In  the 
cosmos  the  alicnati(^n  from  God  is  set  forth  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  return  to  him.  Gregory  assisted 
in  transmitting  to  futurity  this  pantheistic  idea, 
which  he  himself  indeed  never  (juite  clearly  thought 
out  so  as  to  .separate  it  from  its  historical  conditions. 
The  pantheistic  doctrine  of  redemption  appears  in 
after  times  in  a  dou^»le  form  (pantheistic  monoj)hy- 
sites,  the  Arcopagite  and  his  discii)les,  etc.)  :  Either 
the  work  of  the  historical  Christ  appears  as  a  special 
instance,  i.e.  as  a  symbol  of  the  general  purifj-ing 
and  sanctifying  activity  which  the  Logos  in  common 
with  the  graded  orders  of  super-sensuous  creatures, 
and  at  tliQ  same  time  for  them,  continually  effects  by 
means  of  holy  agencies — or  instantly  with  the  thought 
of  the  incarnation  the  union  of  each  individual  soul 
with  the  Logos  is  conceived  of,  in  which  there  is 
repeated  what  occurred  in  regard  to  Christ.  A  third 
form  still  is  the  view,  that  the  humanity  of  Christ 
was  a  heavenly  one,  i.e.  that  the  Logos  always  car- 
ried humanity  within  itself.  Even  unconcealed  j)an- 
theism  (nature  as  a  whole  is  of  one  essence  with 
Divinity)  was  not  wanting. 

But  all  this  lay  only  in  the  background,  while  the 
thought  that  Christ  took  upon  himself  humanity  ;vs 
generally  conceived  spread  iu  the  Ea.st  and  West,  and 
destroyed  the  idea  of  a  moral  union  of  the  l>ivinity 


Form  of 

PaiUlH'istic 

Doctrim*. 


H<Hl(>mp- 

lion  Rc- 

ffiTt'd  to 

Sill  anil 

IVfitli. 


'  I 


1 


r 


I 
3 

5 
'i 


i 


:  i'i 


i         h 


•    •!• 


l! 


IV 


Adjiist- 

IlK'Ilt  of 

Facts  ill 

ilcsiis'  Life 

to  Ut'dt'rniH 

tioii 

Theory. 


210       OUTLINKS   OK   TMK    IIISTOHV    OF    IXMJMA. 

with  Mti  individual  man,  from  wiiicli,  of  conrso,  tho 
certainty  of  our  participation  in  God  cannot  bo  in- 
ferred. Tiioso  who  tauj^ht  this  moral  union  (Anti- 
ochians)  ordinarily  conceived  redemj.tion,  not  as  a 
restitution,  the  necessity  of  wliich  they  did  not  exactly 
feel,  but  as  a  leading  up  to  a  new  state,  as  the  close  of 
the  Divine  pedaj^ogy.  Whereas  the  theologians  fol- 
lowing Athanasius  and  Gregory  always  conceived  of 
the  incarnation  as  a  no(,'essary  restitution  and  referred 
it  tlierefore  to  sin  and  deatii.  Accordingly  they  firm- 
ly maintained,  so  far  ns  the}'  were  not  misled  by  pan- 
theism, that  the  incarnation  was  an  historical  deed 
of  unfathomable  Divine  compassion,  by  means  of 
which  humanity  has  been  restored  to  Divine  life. 

Supplemoif.  Men  attempted  to  fit  the  facts  of  the 
history  of  Jesus  into  the  work  of  redemption,  which 
indeed  was  a  success  as  regards  the  resurrection,  but 
not  wholly  so  in  any  other  single  point.  The  death 
on  the  cross  remained  in  particular  unintelligible, 
although  Pauline  points  of  view  wore  continually 
repeated;  for  by  the  incarnation  everything  had 
re£dly  been  given  and  deatli  could  at  the  most  be  but 
the  conclusion  of  the  "becoming  flesh"  (the  sacrifi- 
cial view  moreover  has  seldom  since  Grigon  been  far- 
ther fertilized  according  to  the  scheme  of  the  Greek 
mysteries).  Nevertheless  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  death  was  considered  a  blissful  mystery,  before 
which  one  should  bow  down,  and  it  is  after  all  a 
question  whether  the  dogmatic  reticence  here  of  the 
Greeks  is  less  worthv  in  contrast  with  the  bold  reckon- 


^  ii 


PKVKI.01'.MKNT   OF    DOCTRINE   OK    INCARNATION.     5J41 


the  (Sri'tit 
Topes. 


in^'  and  harj^ainiii}^  of  the  Occidfntal  (li(M)l(>^ianH. 
•Tho  latter  hIik-o  TuituUiaii  and  Cyprian  havo  over  ,^''i!£i'J|;,' 
considered  the  endurance  of  death  as  a  service,  the 
value  of  which  should  be  appraised  in  juristic  ft)rnui- 
las;  they  have  looked  upon  death  as  J^dtisfdctio  and 
placaUn  del  and  ai)[>lied  to  it  the  view  gained  hy  the 
contemplation  of  the  legal  scheme  of  atonement  (abo- 
lition of  sull'ering  and  punishment  for  guilt  through 
ilmcj'piatiou,  i.e.  through  the  mcrif  of  Christ's  death 
which  pacified  an  angry  God.  C^alculating  the  value 
to  God  of  Christ's  death :  Ambroses  Augustine,  the  A^."SsTine 
great  popes).  Moreover  since  And)rose  they  consist- 
ently advanced  to  the  assumption,  that  the  expiation 
(the  merit)  of  Christ  was  made  as  nntn^  since  hu- 
manity is  the  (h'btor  and  since?  any  services  rendered 
can  be  ascribed  onl}'  to  the  man,  who,  to  be  sure, 
received  his  worthiness  from  his  Divinity.  Tliereby 
the  West  alienated  itself  from  the  East :  Here  is  God 
who  has  taken  humanity  into  union  with  his  being, 
in  conscMiuence  of  which  his  constitution  as  Re- 
deemer; yonder  is  man,  tho  propitiator,  whose  endur- 
ance of  death  has  a  Divine  value.  But  the  West,  it 
is  true,  did  not  possess  as  yet  a  strict  theory.  It  also 
still  accepted  the  gnostic-eastern  conceptions  that  a 
ransom  was  })aid  to  the  devil,  who  thereby  was  de- 
frauded. 
16 


r 
i 

,     1 
!       i 


il  1 


^ 


I  1; 


242       OUTLINES   OF   THE   Hl.^TORY   OF  DOGMA. 


S'. 


Hnmonsios 
of  Fathor 
and  Son. 


Liician, 

Adoptiou- 

isiu. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TliE   DOCTRINE   OF   THE    HOMOUSION  OF   THE   SON  OF 
GOD   WITH   GOD    HIMSELF. 

Principal  sources:  The  Church  historians  of  the  4th  and 
nth  centuries  and  the  works  of  the  fathers  of  the  4th  century. 
Gvvatkin,  Studies  of  Arianisin,  1882;  Molder,  Athnnnsius, 
1827;  Zahn,  Marcell.,  1867;  Hahn,  Bibliothek  d.  Synibole,  3. 
Aufl. 

Is  the  Divine,  which  has  appeared  upon  the  earth 
and  reunited  man  with  God,  identical  with  the  high- 
est divine  Being  who  rules  heaven  and  earth,  or  is 
he  same  scini-diviner     That  was  the  decisive  ques- 
tion of  the  Arian  controversy. 

1. — From  the  Beginning  of  the  Controversi/  until 
the  Council  of  Nica'a. 

At  Antioch,  2G8,  the  Logos-doctrine  had  been  car- 
ried through,  but  the ''/^'^'W^/^ was  rejected.  Yet  the 
legacy  of  Paul  of  Samosata  did  not  perish.  Lucian, 
the  most  learned  exegete  of  his  time,  took  ic  up  and 
founded  a  i)oi)ular,  influcntijd  (wogotico-theological 
school,  which  for  a  lung  time  held  aloof  from  the 
Cliurch,  but  later  made  its  peace  with  the  same,  and 
became  the  foster-mother  of  Arianism.  Lucian 
started  from  adoptionism ;  the  high  value  which  he 
placed  upon  the  dereJopnient  of  Christ  {-no/.u-rj) 
proves  this,  But  he  condescended  to  introduce  the 
hypostatic  Logos,  still  as  /.<'>y„^'-y.T':>-;ia^  as  created, 
capable  and  in  need  of  development,  which  is  to  be 


f.TW^Wf^^'^^T^^^ 


le 
(1, 

)0 


I 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    POCTRINE    OF   1N(\\RXATI()X.     '243 

sharply  (listinguished  from  the  etornul,  impersonal 
Logos  of  God.  The  ego  in  Christ  is  tlierefore  a 
heavenly  pre-existent  Being  (no  longer  man,  as  with 
Paul) — by  this  admission  Lucian  made  his  peace 
with  the  dogma  and  the  Origenists — hut  human 
qualities  were  attributed  to  the  same,  the  incai-nation 
became  a  mere  assuming  of  the  flesh,  and  by  means 
of  the  Aristotelian  dialectics  and  Biblican  exegesis 
a  doctrinal  principle  was  now  propounded  in  which 
the  unhegotten  Creator  (the  "  Eternal ")  was  placed 
in  sharp  contrast  with  all  created  beings,  conse- 
quently also  with  the  IjOgos-Christ,  and  theology 
became  "technology",  that  is,  a  doctrine  of  the  un- 
hegotten and  the  begotten  was  worked  out  in  syllo- 
gisms founded  upon  the  holy  codex,  without  genu- 
ine interest  in  the  th(Hight  of  redemption,  yet  not 
v/ichout  moral  energy,  and  this  was  spread  abroad 
by  disciples  closely  allied  and  proud  of  their  dialec- 
tics and  their  exegetical  art. 

To  these  Arius  also  belonged,  who  at  a  ri])e  age 
became  deacon  and  presbyter  in  Alexandria.  There, 
at  that  time,  a  tendency  was  represented  in  the  epis- 
copate which  mistrusted  the  luv^para  zi]<  7.7/.y^>.'x>;s- 
tpiXo(70(fia<  and  put  aside  the  thought  of  the  difference 
between  Father  and  Logos.  Although  Arius  had 
for  some  time  combated  Christological  errors  along 
with  his  bishop  Alexander,  yet  about  the  year  3 1 8 
he  began  to  differ  with  the  latter,  and  the  bishop 
found  it  necessar}^  about  3"2()  to  condemn  and  dispose 
Arius  and  some  of  the  other  C 


i^J  t 


sy 


Tlioolnpy 

IV'COtlK'S 

Ti'chnol- 


Arius. 


r 


ii 


■  rO' 


2U      outlinp:s  of  the  history  of  dooma 


nt 


:MJ:i 


I   ) 


EiiRobins 

of  Nico- 

niedia. 


Constaii- 

tinc, 
Hosius. 


Alexan- 
der's 
F<irinula. 


It 


in  Alexandria,  on  account  of  their  Christolojjfv. 
But  ho  stepped  into  a  wasp's  nest.  The  followers  of 
Lucian  and  above  all  the  influential  Eusebius  of 
Nicomedia  took  decidedly  the  part  of  Arius,  and  the 
majority  of  the  Oriental  bishops  were  indeed  in 
sympathy  with  him  (also  Eusebius  of  Cesarea) .  Let- 
ters were  written  on  both  sides  to  gain  assistance ; 
synods  also  were  held.  Arius  was  able  under  pro- 
test to  take  up  again  his  work  in  Alexandria.  When 
Constantino,  o"2  3,  became  ruler  also  of  the  Orient,  the 
contest  spread  to  all  the  coast  provinces  of  the  East 
(Tludia  of  Arius;  derision  of  Jews  and  heathen). 
The  emperor  sought  at  first  to  reconcile  both  parties 
by  a  letter  delivered  by  the  court-bishop,  Hosius,  of 
Cordova  (the  dispute  is  an  idle,  unbecoming  quarrel) . 
But  the  letter  had  no  effect,  and  Hosius,  who  cham- 
pioned the  Tertullian-Cyprian  doctrine  of  the  trin- 
ity, probably  at  that  very  time  came  to  an  agreement 
with  Alexander.  Through  him  the  emperor  also 
was  gained  over  and  the  Nicene  decision  prepared 
for.  Following  his  advice,  Constantino  called  a 
council  at  Nic^ea. 

Alexander's  doctrine  (vid.  his  two  letters  and  the 
cpi.'^f.  Aril  ad  Euseh.)  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
essentially  identical  with  the  later  one  oi  Athanasius; 
but  it  was  not  clear  in  its  formulations.  Especially 
did  he  hardl}'  raise  the  '''luionntn^  to  a  rallying-cry, 
since  the  same  was  repudiated  in  the  East.  Hosius 
probably  introduced  it  as  a  translation  of  the  W(^st- 
ern  nn  ius  sabstantiae.     Alexander's  formulas  were : 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  1)()(T1:T\K  OF  TNCAKNAT[(  )X. 


•)  1  f; 


}5 


azi>n<i)  TvA  TT/Kifiyet  n  >'^ei"i  ro'')  ol<r>^  '/£:  ''/i''v',  de)  0'.i'i<.  i^  annr) 

Ttr)  f'/eirj  o  6».''a;.  AloxiiiKlor  assei'ted  the  eternal  co-ex- 
istonce  without  beginning  of  the  Father  Jind  the  Son 
(influence  of  IrenaiusV)  He  inclmled  the  Son  in  the 
being  of  the  Father  as  a  necessary  constituent  part; 
he  refuted  the  tenets,  that  the  Son  is  not  eternal,  that 
he  was  created  out  of  nothing,  that  he  is  not  (f'xrst 
God,  that  he  changes,  that  he  has  passed  through  a 
moral  development  [uid  is  only  adopted  Son.  He 
consciously  contended  for  the  conmion  faith  in  the 
Church,  for  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  he  rejected 
above  all  the  dialectics  about  "begotten  "  and  "un-  xJlat'-efri 
begotteii'\     He  quoted  in  favor  of  his  view  the  Scrip-     Begotten 

and  UiiIh!- 

ture  proofs  (John  1:  1-3;  1:  IH;  10:  30;  U:  8,  !»  Koiten. 
and  28;  Math.  IJ:  17;  11  :  27;  I.  John  5:1;  Col.  I  : 
15,  U);  Rom.  8:  32;  Heb.  1:  2  seq.;  Prov.  8:  :50; 
Psa.  2:  7;  110:  3;  35:  10;  Isa.  53 :  8).  llewasfond 
of  using  the  favorite  expression  of  Origen  :  Tlie  Son 
is  the  perfect  reflection;  but  even  the  following  ex- 
pression does  not  satisfy  him  :    -'>  nnziu  yai>ay-r^i>i^iz(n  o 

r.azr^n.  He  approaches  Sabellianism,  but  desires  to  ^s^'^sXn' 
reject  it  strongly,  and  asserts  that  the  Fatlier  is 
nevertheless  greater  than  the  Son  who  belongs  to 
his  being.  He  wants  to  see  the  "  coming  forth  "  of 
such  a  Son  revered  as  a  mysterj^ :  It  is  a  question  of 
faith,  not  of  speculation.  Still  he  often  uses  unin- 
telligible, confused  and  contradictory  expressions, 
among  which  even  T.azi>uy^   ^Uoyo'-'ia  is  not  wanting, 


"       ! 


,1 


I    i 


5 
^ 


'■- 


tAi 


24(5        OUTLINES   OK   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOOMA. 


ft 


I  ■': 


an 


Arius' 
Ductriue. 


God   Alone 
Ett'iiiiil. 


which  contrast  unfavorably  with  liic  phiiii,  clear 
sentoncos  ol"  Arins,  for  whom  it  was  an  easv  task 
to  show  that  llie  doctrine  of  Alexander  was  neitlier 
protected  against  dualism  (two  '''r-"'^;'"),  nor  against 
gnostic  emanationism  (-""/5r»//;,  d-i'i/iinna)^  nor  against 
Sabellianism  (ofo-'/rw//),  nor  against  the  representa- 
tion of  the  corporeality  of  God,  and  had  the  character- 
istics of  a  chameleon  and  was  Biblicall}^  untenable. 

Arius  taught  the  following  (see  his  own  letters 
and  the  letters  of  his  friends,  the  fragments  of  the 
Thalia,  the  characterization  in  Alexander  and  Atha- 
nasius,  the  writings  of  the  later  Arians) : 

(1)  The  one  God,  besides  whom  thei'o  is  no  other, 
is  alone  unbegotten,  without  beginning,  eternal ;  he 
is  inexpressible  and  incomprehensible;  furthermore 
he  is  the  cause  and  creator  oi  all  things.  In  these 
attributes  consists  his  nature  (the  unbegotten  Gen- 
erator). His  activity  is  in  creafuuj  ("to  Ijoget"  is 
only  a  synonym).  Everything  wdiicli  is,  has  been 
created — not  out  of  the  nature  of  God  (otherwise  he 
would  not  be  simple  and  spiritual),  but  out  of  his 
own  free  w411.  Accordingly  God  has  not  always  been 
Father,  else  the  created  would  be  eternal ;  tlie  created 
also  can  never  receive  the  essence  of  God ;  for  this 
precisely  is  uncreated. 
Hhn  Dwc'H  (*^)  ^'^i^^iii  tliis  God  dwcll,  as  inseparable  poi(;er,9, 
and  Logos.   Wisdom  and  Logos;  there  are  beside  many  created 

poive7^s. 
When  Son        ('^^  Before  the  world  was,  God  created  out  of  his 
v>as  Not.    ^^^^  £j^.g^  ^^Yi  an  independent  Being  {(>o(T':a,  ur.uaraai^)^ 


DEVELOl'MENT   OF    DOCTKINE   OF   INCARNATION.     247 


Son    Dis- 
tinct  from 
Fatlier. 


as  an  instnnneiit  fur  ilic  production  of  the  other 
creatures,  who  according  to  Scripture  is  called  Wis- 
dom, Son,  Likeness,  Word;  like  all  creatures  he  was 
created  out  of  nothing  and  had  a  heginning.  There 
was  therefore  a  time  when  this  Son  was  not.  He  is 
only  called  inappropriately  "'  Son  " ;  the  other  crea- 
tures are  also  called  thus  by  Scripture. 

(4)  This  "  Son "  therefore  is,  according  to  his 
being,  an  independent  magnitude,  totally  distinct 
from  the  "  Father".  He  has  neither  one  being  with 
the  Father,  nor  like  qualities  of  nature  (otherwise 
there  would  be  two  Gods) .  Rather  has  he  a  free  will 
and  is  capable  of  changing.  But  ho  has  resolved 
permanently  upon  the  good.  Thus  by  virtue  of  his 
choice  he  has  become  uncliangeable. 

(5)  The  "  Son",  then,  is  not  very  God,  and  he  has 
Divine  qualities  only  as  acquired  and  only  in  part. 
Because  he  is  not  eternal,  his  knowledge  also  is  not 
perfect.  To  him,  therefore,  is  not  due  like  honor 
with  the  Father. 

(G)  Still  he  differs  from  all  creatures;  he  is  the  ^''"froiH''''" 
xrint'.a  rihuv^^  through  whom  everything  has  been 
created ;  he  stands  in  an  especial  relationship  of  grace 
to  God.  Through  God's  communication  and  his  own 
progress,  he  has  become  God,  so  that  we  may  call 
him  "only  begotten  God". 

(7)  This  Son  has  truly  assumed  a  human  body. 
The  attributes,  Avhicli  the  historical  Christ  mani- 
fested, show  that  the  Logos  to  which  they  belonged 
is  a  being  capable  of  suffering  and  is  not  perfect. 


Son  not 
Very   Ood. 


Son  Truly 
Incar- 
nated. 


i 


"  i 

i 


t  i  1 


II    ' 


I 


Scripture 
Proof. 


248       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

'siffl"*       (^)  By  the  side  of  and  below  tho  Son  stands  the 
uaoo.on.   j|,^,]y    t^pii-jti    for    tho    Christian    boHeves   in  throe 
soparato  and   different  onrtiut  {''TzotTrdne's)'^  the  Holy 
Si)irit  was  created  througli  the  Son. 

(!»)  Scripture  proofs  for  these  doctrines  were :  Deut. 
G:  4;  32:  UO;  Prov.  S :  22;  Ps.  45 :  S;  Math.  12:  2S; 
Mk.  i;i:  ;32;  Math.  20:  41;  28:  18:  Lk.  2:  52;  18: 
1!);  John  11:  34;  14:  28;  17:  3;  Acts  2 :  30;  I.  Cor. 
1:  24;  15:  28;  Col.  1:  15;  Phil.  2:  0  .syv/.;  Heb.  1: 
4;  3:  2;  John  12:  27;  13:  21;  Math.  20:  3'.);  27:  40, 
etc.  Dialeetically  the  sophist  Asterius  above  all  de- 
fended this  doctrinal  conception.  With  strict  Arian- 
ism  the  tradition  coming  from  Paul  and  Lucian  had 
most  weight;  with  tho  more  liberal  party  (Eusebius 
of  Cesarea)  the  doctrine  of  subordination  as  taught 
by  Origen. 

Athanasius'  doctrine,  in  its  dogmatico-scientific 
delineation  not  imi)ortant,  was  great  in  its  victorious 
perseverance  in  the  faith.  It  comprises  really  only 
one  tenet:  God  himself  Jtas  entered  into  humanity. 
It  is  rooted  wholly  in  the  thought  of  redemption. 
Judaism  and  paganism  have  not  brought  back  hu- 
manity into  communion  with  God:  Only  God  could 
deify  us,  ?*.c.,  adopt  us  as  his  sons.  He  who  denies 
that  Christ  is  very  God,  is  still  a  Jew  or  a  heathen. 
Athanasius  has  in  fact  no  longer  a  Logos-doctrine ;  he 
is  a  Christologian.  He  thinks  only  and  always  of  that 
Christ  who  is  God.  He  did  not  care  for  a  formula; 
even  the  ('>iioo>'>fno^  is  not  so  often  used  by  him  as  one 
might  think.     His  main  principles  are  the  following : 


Athana- 
sius' 
Opposing 
Doctiiiif. 


DEVELOI'MKNT   OF    DOCTKINK    OF    INCAKNATION.     '-it'.t 


old  Lo(;()s- 

Dortriiif 

I)()iif  Awiiy 

witli. 


(1)  If  Christ  is  Gotl— and  that  he  must  be  as  lie-    ^'J^V.^iiv' 
(leenier — theti  he  has  as  such  nothing  creainre-like  in    cv.'i't.'ir.s. 
him  and  belongs  in  no  sense  to  created  existences. 
Athanasius  makes  jnst   as  strict  a  distinction  bo- 

tween  created  and  uncreated  as  Arius,  but  he  sets 
the  Son  aside  as  belonging  to  God  in  opposition  to 
the  world. 

(2)  Since  the  Divine  in  Christ  is  not  created, 
it  can  also  not  be  postnlatcd  (jf  tlu»  world  and 
the  creation  of  the  world ;  besides,  God  needs  no 
mediation  for  the  creaticjn  of  the  world.  Conse- 
quently the  idea  of  the  Divine,  who  has  redeemed 
man,  is  to  be  separated  from  the  idea  of  the  world ; 
the  old  Logos-doctrine  was  done  away  with.  Nature 
and  revelation  were  no  longer  considered  identical. 
The  Logos-Son  is  the  principle  of  salvation,  not  the 
principle  of  the  world. 

{',])  But  since  Divinity  is  a  unity  {!><»'h)  and  the 
Son  does  not  belong  to  the  world,  he  must  belong  to 
this  very  unit}^  of  the  unbegotten  Power  which  is  the 
Father. 

(4)  The  very  name  "  Father ''  signifies  that  there 
is  present  in   Divinit}'    a   second  being.     God   has    i''***^  ^""• 
always  been  Father;  he  who  calls  him  this,  names 

the  Son  also;  for  the  Father  is  Father  of  the  Son, 
and  not  properly  Father  of  the  world,  for  it  has  been 
created;  uncreated,  however,  is  the  Divine  trias,  ex- 
isting in  unity. 

(5)  Consequently  the  Son  is  yi'^-^r^.na  Ton  -ar/><j^\  be-  fj'/^J'  /]|^f  Ijj 
gotten  out  of  the  being  of  God,  as  the  light  from  the    ^''{^'od.*'^ 


Soil  Be- 

1()I1K«  to 

Uoillicad. 


Naiui' 
f\ither  Im- 


a 


i.\ 


' 


I    ti 


Ron 

Eternal, 

Esst'utiiillv 


250        OUTLINKS   OF   THK    HISTORY    OF    IXXJ.MA. 

sun,  thi'ougli  an  iiiiior  nocossity.  He  is  tli(3  likeness 
proceeding  from  the  divine  Being.  "To  be  begot- 
ten "  means  nothing  else  than  to  have  complete  par- 
ticipation by  nature  in  the  whole  nature  of  the 
Father,  without  the  "^^ath-^  th  Teby  si'tt'erin^  loss  in 
<iny  way. 

(<!)  Therefore  th«.  A/?,  is,  as.s^'rtions  are  false;  the 
Son  is  rather  («)  alike  eternal  w  itli  the  Father,  {b) 
out  of  tile  being  of  the  Father,  (c)  in  all  parts  as  to 
nature  etiually  endowed  with  the  Father,  and  he  is 
all  this  because  he  has  one  a}i(I  the  same  essence 
ivitJi  the  Fattier  and  forms  ivitli  him  a  strict  unity 
— "essence",  however,  in  regard  to  God  means  noth- 
ing else  tluui  "  being".  It  is  not  true  that  the 
Father  is  one  Being  in  himself  and  the  Son  another 
in  liiniself,  and  that  these  two  have  like  qualities — 
that  would  annid  the  unity  of  the  Divinity,  but  the 
Father  is  the  Divinity;  this  Divinity,  however,  con- 
tains within  itself  lis  self-sufficient  and  self-efficient 
product  a  "going  forth"  which  also  possessed  from 
eternity,  and  not  by  virtue  of  a  comnuuiication,  the 
same  divine  nature — the  true  Son,  the  likeness  pro- 
ceeding from  the  divine  Being.  Father  and  Son  are 
one  Being,  which  includes  in  itself  the  distinction 
between  f'^r/v  and  ^/vvr^/ia,  consequently  between  prin- 
ciple and  derivation  and,  in  this  sense,  a  subordi- 
nation, which  however  has  nothing  to  do  Avith  the 
subordination  of  the  created — this  is  the  meaning  of 
the  uiJ.<>t)')(TU)^  in  Athanasius. 

(7)  All  creature-(iualities    which    the   Scriptures 


\ 


DKVi'.I.Ol'.MKNT    OV    |)()(  TlilN  !•;    Ol'    I  N(  A  KNATK  >N".     -i.M 


ascrilK)  to  oosiis  Clii'ist  luiw  ivfcri'iicr  iikmcIv  to  jiis    !i'""'lll'"'' 

•*  *,j'l  Ull  1 1  li  'S 

lii'luii);  to 


His 

lliiiiiiiii 

Nut  lire. 


Ariaiiisni, 
Alhuiia- 
Riniiisiii. 


huiiiaii  nature.  The  exalt;  it  ion  also  rd'crs  to  the 
sanM;  i.e.  to  onr  exaltation;  for  tlie  union  of  the 
God-Logos  with  human  nature  was  from  the  hegin- 
ning  a  substantial  and  perfeet  onc^  (Mary  as  '''^'-rn/ov)  : 
The  body  beeame  his  l)ody.  Prover])s  S:  •.'•.'  scq. 
also  has  reference  to  the  incarnate  Logos. 

Both  dootrlnos  are  formally  iu  this  rcsiu'rt  alike,  tli;.,  ih 
tlu'in  religion  and  theology  are  most  intimately  mingle  ,in<i 
groiuuleil  upon  the  Logos-doetrine.  liut  Arianism  is  ■  -lu  m 
of  adoptionism  with  the  Origenistic-Neo-PIatonie  duetriii  of 
the  subordinate  Logos  which  is  the  spiritual  prineip  of  ttio 
world,  carried  out  hj-  means  of  the  resources  of  the  .\iisto- 
telian  dialectics;  the  orthodox  docti'ine  is  a  union  of  the  al- 
most niodalistically  colored  dogma,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  (iod 
in  kind,  with  the  Origcnistic  doctrini'  of  the  I^ogos  as  the 
perfect  likeness  of  the  lather.  In  tiie  former,  the  principal 
stress  was  pUu'ed  upon  the  cosmological  and  rational  ethical 
side  (descendijig  triuiiy,  I'nlightening  and  strengthening  of 
freedom)  ;  in  the  latter,  upon  the  thought  of  redemption,  hut 
under  a  physical  conception.  In  the  former,  the  formulas 
are  apparently  free  from  connivance  and  contradictions;  hut 
the  speculative  mythology,  strictly  viewed,  is  as  had  as  pos- 
sible ;  furthermore,  oidy  ascosmologians  are  the  Arians  niono- 
theists  ;  as  theologians  and  in  religion  they  are  polytheists  ; 
finally  in  the  background  lie  deep  contradictions  :  A  Son  who 
is  no  Son,  a  Logos  which  is  no  Logos,  a  monotheism  wiiich    ('".''t'"*i'|'L'- 

"  tlOllS     111 

does  not  e.vclude  polytheism,  two  or  three  iii-ma  who  are  to  be  Ariuuisiu. 
adored,  v,-hile  really  only  one  differs  from  the  creatures,  an 
indefinable  being  who  only  becomes  God  in  becoming  m;in, 
and  who  is  neither  God  nor  man.  Besides,  there  was  novig- 
ou>us  religious  interest,  and  also  no  real  philoso])! ileal  inter- 
est, much  more  was  everything  hollow  and  formalistic,  even 


2 


f' 


ti 


I 


'■.1; 


(    !  I 


>    ">\ 


. 


f^'>l . 


li  .    a 


25'^       OUTLINES   OF   TIIK   IIISTOKY    OF    lUKJMA. 

a  i)ii('ril»'  enthusiasm  for  sporting  with  husks  ami  shells  and 
a  childish  sclf-sullicic'ncy  in  setting  at  work  unmejining  syl- 
logisms. The  <»j)|)onentH  wer<'  (juite  right :  This  doetrine  leads 
hark  to  paganism.  A  relative  value  only  is  due  to  it,  when, 
eoming  in  contact  with  uncultured  and  harharian  nations,  it 
was  ohliged  to  strip  oir  its  philosophical  garments  and  in  that 
way  was  able  to  j»ass  itself  otf  essentially  as  adoptionism,  as 
the  veneration  of  Christ  by  the  sid(^  of  (fod  l)ased  upon  Hih- 

Ortlirxlnx     Heal  jjassages  ((Jerman  adoptianism).    The  orthodox  doctrine. 
Dottriiif. 
Valiii-  unit    on  th(>  contrary,  possesses  its  histiiig  value  through  its  nuiin- 

iJclctHs. 

tenanceof  the  faith  that  in  Christ  (Jod  himself  has  redeemed 

mankind  and  brought  us  into  communion  with  himself.    P>ut, 

since  the  (Jod    in  Christ  was  conceived  as  ''((Iter  <'f/<' "  of  the 

Father,  and  since  redemption  was  conceived   in   a   mystico- 

])hysical  form,  there  resulted, 

Inconc(>iv-        1.   Formulas,   the  direct   gainsaying  of    which   is  evident 

iiiili' 
Fonmilas.     (one  =  three),  and  ideas,  which  cannot  be  conceived,  l)utonly 

asserted  in  words.  Thereby  in  the  jtlace  of  the  kiioirlechjc  of 
God  which  Christ  had  promised,  was  put  a  mystery,  and  this 
was  to  be  recognized  as  the  most  profound  knowledge.  By  the 
side  of  the  miracle,  as  characteristic  of  religion,  was  i)laced 
the  miracle  of  ideas  as  characteristic  of  the  true  theology  ; 

2.  The  assertion  that  the  Person  in  Christ  is  the  Logos,  one 
being  with  (Jod,  could  be  maintained  only  when  one  reversed 
the  interpretations  of  all  evangelical  reports  concerning  him, 
and  understood  his  history  docetically.  Therefore,  the  in- 
troduction of  the  absurd,  and  the  abandonment  of  the  histor- 
ical Christ  in  his  most  valuable  traits,  is  the  couseijuence  of 
the  orthodox  doctrine.  But  the  claim  that  Jesus  Christ  has 
led  men  back  to  God,  and  given  to  them  Divine  life,  was 
still  maintained.  This  conviction  of  faith  was  saved  by 
Athanasius  against  a  doctrine  which,  upon  the  whole,  did  not 
appreciate  the  inward  nature  of  religion,  whicli  sought  in 
religion  only  instruction,  and  finally  found  satisfaction  in 
an  empty  dialectics. 


Contradict 
Bcriptuiv. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   DOCTKINE  OF   INCARNATION.     25;) 


It  in  eas\'  to  sec  that  with  Alius,  as  wtH  as  with  Atlmna-  „P"**Vl 
sins,  the  (ontradictioiiH  and  wcakiu'sst's  flow  from  tho  reception  ThwloKy. 
of  Orif^cnisiii,  that  is,  from  thi-  scicntilic  theology.  Without 
this,  that  is.  without  the  doetrim'  of  the  pre  existent,  hypo- 
statical  Lo;4os,  Arianism  wouhl  Iiave  hceu  adoptioiiism,  or 
pure  rationalism,  and  Atlumasius  would  havo  heen  forced 
either  to  turn  to  modalism,  or  to  relin(iuish  the  idea  of  tho 
Divine;  "nature"  of  Christ. 

At  tlio  synod  of  Nicwji  {•.)-ir>)  tho  lionioiisios  'Jrh.mphT 
(HosJus)  finally  concjueivd,  thanks  to  tho  awkward 
tactics  of  tlio  Avians  and  Eiisebians  (Origenistic 
niiddlo  party),  to  tlio  docisivonoss  of  tho  orthodox 
and  to  th(»  dotonnination  of  tho  emperor.  Into  the 
Ctosarean  creed  tlu;  watch-words  ^£v>r^'V-'>ra  on  -nir,{hi-^. 

ra,  Ix  T/]^^  nnnid^  T(r>  7:nzi>o^^  ujUHi'irsui'^  zip  zazfti  woro  in- 
serted, the  Arian  formulas  expressly  condemned,  and 
this  creed  was  made  the  law  of  tho  Church.  Almost 
all  the  bishops  (oOO?  ;U8?)  submitted,  Arius  and  a 
few  compfmions  were  excommunicated  and  their  fol- 
lowers persecuted.  Athanasiiis  attended  this  synod 
as  deacon,  probably  not  without  taking  an  important 
part. 

2. — Until  the  Death  of  Constantins. 

Tho  victory  had  been  gained  too  (piickly.  Neither  prl-niature 
formally,  nor  essentially  had  it  been  sufficiently 
worked  out,  therefore  the  contest  had  really  only 
begun.  Men  saw  in  the  homousios  an  unbiblical, 
new  formula,  the  making  of  two  Gods,  or  the  intro- 
duction of  Sabellianism,  and,  in  addition,  the  death 


■i 


vi 


II 


' 


.1 


M'M 


!  t 


25 J      onr.iNEs  of  titr  tttstoky  of  nOCJMA. 


Athnnasius 
Haiiislit'd. 


Constnn- 

tins  Kiivors 

Ariaiis. 


Eusphius 

of 
Nicomedia. 


of  clear  scioTicc.  Among  tlioopponontH  who  together 
came  forward  ms  coiiHcrvatives,  two  parties  now  be- 
came clearl}'  i)romiiieHl,  the  Arians  nnd  the  Origen- 
iHts  (Kiis(>l)ians)  to  wlioni  tl>c  in(lilT<'nMils  joiiird 
tliems(>lves.  I>tit  the}'  were  united  in  the  cont(>st 
against  ortliodoxy  (jjrincipal  champion  jigainst  it 
was  Eiisehius  of  Nicomedia), 

Constantine  soon  understood  tliat  he  would  have 
to  come  to  an  agreement  with  the  jinti-Nicenc  coali- 
tion, which  afl(>r  o'l><  became  anti-Athanasian,  for 
the  young  bishop  was  the  most  decided  Xicene. 
Personal  difTerences  arose  at  a  time  when  th(»  ambi- 
tion and  power  of  the  ecclesiastics  could  iinally 
reckon  upon  the  highest  gratification.  In  '.):]')  Athn- 
nasius was  declared  deposed  at  Tyre,  and  in  .'l.'ir.  he 
was  banished  by  the  emperor  to  Trier,  The  solenm 
reception  of  Arius  into  the  Church  was  frustrated  by 
his  death.  In  'M]7  Constantine  died,  really  aj)prov- 
ing  the  promulgating,  under  the  cover  of  the  Niceno 
creed,  of  hostile  doctrines. 

His  sons  divided  the  empire.  Athanasius  (;)I)T) 
returned.  But  Constantius,  the  ruler  of  the  East, 
rightly  understood  that  he  could  not  govern  with 
orthodoxy,  and  he  did  not  feel  hijnself  bound,  like 
his  father,  to  the  Nicene  creed.  He  deposed  the 
orthodox  bishop  of  the  capital;  Eusebius  of  Nico- 
media took  his  place.  In  Cicsarea  an  Arian,  Acacius, 
succeeded  Eusebius;  Athanasius  was  deposed,  but 
he  anticijiated  his  banishment  by  flight  to  Rome 
(1339),  leaving  Egypt  in  wild  disorder.     The  Euse- 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     255 


(.jl 


l)iaTiH  vvcro  not  ma.stors  nf  tlu?  sitnation,  hut  i\w  West 
was  true  NicciK^  and  the  stioni^hold  of  Oriental  ortho- 
doxy. The  EuHebians  did  not  wisli  to  break  with 
the  West;  they  were,  therefore,  ohlip'd  to  try  to 
(juietly  ])ii.sh  aside  the  Nieene  creed,  replacinj^  in 
mere  pretenee  the  lioniousios  by  In'tler  l»il)li('al 
fornndas  and  demanding  \\\o  carrying  out  of  the  de- 
position of  Athanasius.  It  was  of  great  advantage 
to  the  Orientals  that  a  strict  Nieene  and  a  friend  of 
Athanasius,  Marcellus  of  Anevra,  did  not  sanction    Miimiiim 

"  i)f  Ancyru. 

the  common  foundation  of  the  teaching,  the  philo- 
sophical-Origenistic  Logos-doctrine,  but  declared  the 
Logos  to  be  the  Power  of  God,  which  only  at  the  in- 
carnation had  become  divine  Person  and  "Son",  in 
order  to  return  to  the  Father  when  once  he  had  fin- 
ished his  work  (the  Orientals  saw  in  this  doctrine 
"Sabellianism  ").  Julius  of  Rome  and  Athanasius 
declar(>d  ^larcellus  to  bo  orthodox,  and  provcMl  there- 
by that  they  were  concerned  alone  al)out  redi^nptive 
faith  and  laid  aside  the  fonnulas  set  up  by  tli(> 
Ori(>ntals  at  Antioch  (:)U),  although  tiK>  latter  now 
formally  renounced  Arianism  and  establishcvl  a  doc- 
trine which    ofild  be  taken  for  Nieene. 

Political  i'easons  compelled  Constantius  to  be  obliLj-    <,v""r''  "^ 

'■  ^        San  lira. 

ing  to  his  orthodox  brother,  Constans,  the  ruler  of 
the  West.  The  great  council  of  Sardica  {'.WA)  was 
intende<l   to  restore  i 


ity 


'I' 


But  the  Occidentjds  refused  the  preliminary  (lema?id 
of  the  Orientals  to  acknowledge  liie  deposition  ot" 
Athanasius  and  Marcellus,  and  proclaimed  after  the 


!' 

>  t 


M 


te 


t 

1 

i 


# 


M'  ■' 


/  •.' 


n 


Synods  at 
Milan. 


flonstan- 

titis  Solo 

Ruler. 


Synods  of 

Arlt's  and 

:\Iilan. 


250       OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

exodus  of  tlio  Orientals  (to  Philippopolis)  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  leaders,  taking  tlieir  position  rigidly  upon 
the  basis  of  tl^e  Nieene  creed.  The  opponents  reit- 
erated the  !th  iVntiochian  formula.  Constantius 
himself  seems  to  have  mistrusted  them  for  a  time; 
he  certainly  feared  to  irritate  his  brother  who  was  en- 
deavoring to  gain  the  supremacy.  The  Orientals  re- 
iterated once  more  in  a  long  formula  their  orthodoxy 
(Antioch,  34:  i)  and  the  minimum  of  their  demands. 
.A.lthougli  the  West  at  the  Milan  synods  (3i5-347) 
i'ojeciod  the  doctrine  of  Photinus  of  Sirmium,  who 
from  tiie  doctrine  of  his  master,  Marcellus,  had  de- 
veloped a  strictly  ado])tian  conception  (the  Logos 
never  became  a  person),  it  yet  remained  otherwise 
firm,  while  in  the  East  political  bishops  already 
meditated  peace  with  Athanasius.  The  latter  was 
restored  by  Constantius,  who  was  hard  pressed  by 
the  Persians,  and  ho  was  greeted  with  great  rejoic- 
ings in  Alexandria  (3-J:(!).  About  31(S  it  appeared  as 
if  orthodoxy  had  conquered;  only  Marcellus  and  the 
icord  o/Kio'irr'.!)^  seemed  still  to  give  offence. 

But  the  death  of  Constans  (350)  and  the  defeat  of 
the  usurper  Magnentius  (353)  changed  everything. 
If  Constantius  during  the  hist  years  was  obliged  t(j 
bow  before  a  few  bishops,  his  own  subjects,  who 
ha('  ruled  his  brother  ho  now  as  sole  ruler  was  de- 
termined to  govern  the  Church  and  pay  back  the 
humiliations.  Already  in  351  ('^d  Sirmian  synod) 
the  Oriental  bishops  had  returned  to  action.  At  the 
synods  of  Aries  (353)  and  Milan  (355)  the  Western 


jfr*.  .'.i  .  ^.  artT^;**'*W'^'^^^r  " 


J^S  ■ -.m^??^  T'.vrflt5'"'«J«^'^ 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DOCTHTNE    OF    INCARNATION. 


Ol 


'S- 


io 


episcopate  was  ol^liged  to  como  to  tonus.  At  first 
nothing  further  was  demanded  of  it  than  the  con- 
demnation of  .Athanasins,  but  this  meant  a  diver- 
gence on  the  question  of  faith,  and  the  bishops  al- 
lowed it  to  be  forced  noon  them  (a  few  exceptions: 
Paulinas  of  Trier,  Lucifer  of  C^ngliari,  Eusebius  of 
Vercelli;  also  Hosius,  Liberius,  Hilarius  had  to  go 
into  exile).  Athanasius  anticipated  his  deposition  by 
flight  into  the  desert  (:55fi).  Union  seemed  restored, 
but  it  was  as  state  ecclesiasticism,  against  which 
orthodox  Western  bishops  fiercely  inveighed,  now 
only  remembering  that  emperor  and  state  should 
not  meddle  with  religion. 

The  union  of  the  victors  was  only  a  seeming  one,   Actius  nn,i 

"  '     Eunoiniu.s. 

for  it  became  apparent  that  it  did  not  go  beyond 
negations.  Strict  aggressive  Arianism  again  came 
forward  in  Aetius  and  Eunomius  and  wanted  to 
carry  through  the  "anomoian"  doctrine  ('/>''/i"j<'9   y.a\ 

xara  Tzdvra  xat  xut  uhnia-^) .      In   opposition  to   this,  semi- 

Arianism  placed  itself  in  sharp  contrast  (the  "un- 
changeable likeness",  v!i.ini>i  xari/.  r.'v.za  y.a\  xara    rr,,/  on- 

(Tiav).  These  homoiusians  (Georgius  of  Laodicea, 
Eustathius  of  Sebaste,  Eusebius  of  Emesa,  Basilius 
of  ATicyra)  had  learned  that  the  Son  must  be,  as  to    Kusrbius 

•J        I  'of  f.niesa. 

Bn.siliiis  of 


Homoiu- 
sians: 
Georcius 

Laodicen, 


being,  of  like  fsse/ice  with  the  Father;  as  scientific     Anc, 
men   (cosmol(^gians)   they  did  not  wish  to  abandon 
the  cosmic  potentiality  of  the  Logos  and  the  descend- 
ing trinity.     They  understood  how,  with  the  Scrip- 
tures as  a  basis  and  in  connection  witli   Cliristojogy, 

to  so  formulate  their  doctrine  that  it  made  an  im- 
17 


yra. 


\ 


\i     1 


\' 


,■• 


\ 


Frnin 

857  .'iin 

CViiistiiii- 

tiiis 

Opt'iily 

Fiivi  lis 

Arianisin. 


Remi- 

Ariaiis, 

Syiidds  at 

SelciU'ia 

and 
Riiuiui. 


258 


OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


pressi(m  even  upon  Nicene  Occidentals,  who,  to  hr 
sure,  were  still  half  idiots  in  scientific  theolog}'.  Tin; 
third  party  was  that  of  the  politicians,  who  applauded 
that  formula  which  had  the  best  prospect  of  settling 
the  contest  (Ursacius  and  Valens :  'v/''^'^'  ^'^^''^^  '^''/s- 
y/ia(fd<^).  The  period  from  ;}57-3r)l  is  the  time  during 
which  the  emperor,  openly  dropping  the  Nicene 
creed,  sought  for  a  Cliristological  imperial  formula, 
and  proposed  with  all  energy  to  carry  it  through  at 
the  synods.  Here,  finally,  only  the  " 'V' -"S"  ^'-'"'^  ''h^ 
Ypatpd^  "  could  be  presented;  for  with  this  unmeaning 
formula,  the  Arians,  semi-Arians  and  even  the  ortho- 
dox could  make  friends,  since  it  directly  contra- 
dicted no  doctrine.  The  Sirmian  synods  had  not  as 
yet  accomplished  what  they  ought,  and  they  even 
showed  a  passin"  tendency  to  strict  Arianism.  At 
Ancyra  (358)  the  semi-Arians  rallied  powerfully. 
Two  great  contemporaneous  synods  in  the  East  and 
West  (at  Seleucia  and  Iliniini)  were  expected  to  pro- 
claim tlio  Mh  Sirmian  formula,  a  dogmatico-political 
masterpiece  of  the  emperor.  But  when  the  one  as- 
sumed a  homoiusian,  the  other  an  orthodox  attitude, 
they  were  terrorized,  kept  in  suspense,  and  the  ho- 
moiusian imperial  creed  was  forced  upon  them  in 
exchange  for  concurrence  in  the  expulsion  of  strict 
Arianism  (synods  at  Nice  and  Constantinople  .')('»<»). 
Afterward  all  homoiusians  wore  nevertheless  ban- 
ished from  the  influential  positions,  so  that,  in  spite 
of  the  expulsion  of  Aetius,  an  Arianism,  moderated 


in 
•ict 
(»()). 
){in- 

ittnl 


DEVKLOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCAKNATIOX.     250 

through  want  of  principle,  actually  established  itself 
in  the  Church  as  the  state  religion. 

3. — Until  the  Councils  at  Constantinople^  381,  383. 

In  the  year  3(;i  C'onstantius  died.  Julian  sue-  '(^S^n.u- 
ceeded  him,  and  accordingly,  instead  of  the  artificial  jiiiian^Kiii- 
iniion,  the  real  parties  succeeded  again  to  their  rights. 
But  the  honioiusians  were  no  longer  the  "  middle 
party",  no  longer  the  ''conservatives"  in  the  old 
sense;  for  in  o})positioii  to  Arianism,  they  had  dec})- 
oned  and  strengthened  their  doctrine  (conservatives 
possess  elasticity).  Conservative  and  conciliatory 
were  the  homoians  who  inclined  toward  Arian- 
ism. Here  the  change  in  the  Orient — at  first,  in- 
deed, only  in  the  minds  of  the  most  prominent  theo- 
logians— is  sliown.  The  hoinoiiisians^  disciples  of 
Origen,  distinguished  alike  for  ecclesiastical  feeling, 
asceticism  a)ul  pure  seioice,  capituUded  to  the 
honiousios,  an  alliance  which  Hilarius  zealously 
urged  forward. 

Julian  ])erinitted  the  l)anished   bishops,   therefore    <7l'''."^^'°'^ 

'■  *     '  Hislinps 

also  Athanasius,  to  return.  The  S3'n()d  of  Alexandria  ^fnln" 
(  )<)•?)  marks  the  turning-point  in  so  far  as  Atha- 
nasius there  admitted  that  the  Niceno  creed  sans 
]}hrase  should  be  valid;  that  is,  he  expressly  re- 
nounced the  phrase  "one  being  ^^  {one  hypostasis) 
and  thus  allowed  such  an  interpretation  of  the 
uiiMontno^  as  made  it  "one  essence''  (instead  of  "one 


Exile. 


II 


B: 


2G0 


OUTLINES    OK    THE    HISTOTIV    OF    DOGAIA. 


Tjucifcr. 


Apnl  linea- 
ris   (if 

Laoilicca 
iiiiii  tilt' 


heiuf/"),  which  constituted  tlioroforo  three  liyposta- 
sos.  But  this  concession  and  the  great  leniency 
toward  those  who  once  had  signed  the  -Ith  Sirniian 
formula  provoked  the  displeasure  of  some  of  the 
prominent  Occidentals  (Lucifer)  and  martyrs  of  the 
faith.  In  the  West  one  felt  that  the  old  doctrine 
(the  substantial  unity  of  the  Deity  is  the  rock  and 
the  plurality  is  the  m3'ster3')  had  been  inverted  (the 
trinity  of  the  divine  Persons  is  the  rock  and  the 
unity  is  the  problem),  and  Athanasius  himself  was 
not  able  to  add  real  friends  to  his  new  scientific 
friends  in  Asia  Minor,  Cappadocia  and  Antioch;  for 
now  tlie  science  of  (^rigen  had  been  rescued  for  ortho- 
doxy. The  great  theologians,  Apollinaris  of  Laodicea 
and  the  three  Cappadocians,  started  from  Origen  and 

Tiiifc  Cap- 

padociaus.  the  <'ii<iii)'')(Tco<? ;  but  tlic}'  rec(^gnized  the  I'lioonnto;  now 
and  were  able  to  carry  on  tlu;y'  philosophical  specu- 
lations with  it  and  liy  the  side  of  it;  for  one  could 
say  that  there  are  three  hypcjstases,  and  still  be  ortho- 
dox. By  creating  a  firm  terminology,  they  suc- 
ceedetl  at  the  same  time  in  Viroducing  apparently 
clear  formulas.  (>nnia  now  received  the  middle  sense 
between  the  abstract  idea  of  "  beii^  "  and  the  con- 
crete idea  of  "individual  !)eing";  so,  however,  that 
i*  v'erv  s^.'ongly  inclined  t(^  the  i'oiiner.  'y~o(7za(Ti<i  re- 
ceivi.'.!  the  iuiddle  sense  between  person  and  attri- 
bvK/'  ^,u<  itleiii,  i.e.  mo'alit}^),  in  such  away,  how- 
■:'v'(;\  rh.ij  t  iie  V  oncepiion  of  person  was  the  stronger. 
///.  io  '.:;..v.  since  it  soundi-d  Sabellian-like,  was 
avoided.  i.>ut  \v<\    rejected.     The  unity  of  thc^  Deity, 


1)K\  KLOI'MKNT    OF    DOCTRIXP:    ' >V    FXCAltNATION.     'IC] 


ligov. 

was 

leity, 


liilitatfd. 


wliicli  1lu»  (*;i{)j);i(l()('i;iiis  were  (•»  iiccfiicd  nboiil,  was 
not  the  same  as  Athaiiasius  and  tlif  ( )c'('i(l»:iilals  liad 
in  mind.  '/:V>£  oO^;'u  iv  Tncrh  n-dfrr'U'erriy  lu^amo  tlu» 
formula.  In  order  to  render  clear  tb(>  r(\d  dilTerenco 
in  the  Persons  within  the  unity  of  the  Deity,  (Jre^- 
ory  of  Nyssa  added  to  them  -/.';-.-;  ■  rr<;//^.-(/K-  (w/i/irr^r^s' 
^ai>ay-r^y:X"''-T't'..    i:aintT(i.     /n.'W'/ar/) ,    ;illd     indeed    to   the 

Father  {\\o  ''lyzy.-r^nia  (not  MS  lu'ing',  hut  as  mode  of 
heing  ['"/''^;^~]  of  tli(»  Fatiier),  to  the  Son  the  Yvy.y,n'ji — 
even  the  older  homoiiisinns  had  heen  here  more  re- 
served than  Greg')ry — and  to  tlie  Spirit  i/.-uinun:.:. 
The  Origenistie-Xeo-Platonic  trinitv-siieculation  he-  ni-iKonistic 
came  rehahilitated.  The  Logos  idea  again  came  to  t jo',"" k'Ii^,\. 
the  front.  The  unity  of  the  Deity  was  again  provr'd 
from  the  monarchy  of  the  Fath(^r,  not  from  the  ''"'- 
ofxrio^.  Thus  "science''  formed  its  alliance  with  the 
Nicene  dc^ctrine.  While  in  the  beginning  scientists 
— also  among  the  heathen — ackno\vde(lged  Arius  *o 
he  in  the  right,  now  men  hecami^  champions  of  i  >e 
Nicene  doctriiie,  to  whom  even  a  Lil)anius  exten-  'd 
the  palm  branch.  They  stood  upon  the  soil  '  a 
scientific  contemplation  of  the  worbl,  were  in  uc- 
ct)rd  with  Plato,  Origen  and  Libanius,  and  i  futed 
Eunomius  amidst  the  apphause  of  the  philosophy's. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  a  victory  of  Xeo-Platoiiisni 
over  Aristotelian  dialectics.  Thus  orthodoxy  in 
union  with  science  had  from  about  ',Vi()-'.V.)A  a  beanti- 
ful  springtime,  followed,  however,  by  destruciive 
storms,  or,  rather,  by  the  blight  of  traditionalism. 
Men  dreamed  the  dream  of  an  eternal  union  between 


Spritif,'- 
Tiiiif  of 
Ortho- 
doxy. 


It 


■J 


I 


i    - 


11. 


m ! 


]'<.li(!(Ml 
Mvi'iits 

Hoiiio- 

usios. 


2rr.l 


Ol'TUNKS    OK    rilK    HISTOHY    OK    IXXJMA. 


f.iitli  .111(1  !-('i('Ji('(\  True,  it  was?  not  vnidistnrbed. 
The  old-t'aith  urth<jduxy  in  tlio  ( )c<'i(k'nt  and  in  Aii- 
tioc'li  remained  distrustful,  even  repellent.  In  Anti- 
ocli  a  kind  of  sehisni  broke  out  between  tlie  old  and 
the  new  scientific  orthodox}'.  The  latter  considered 
the  former  Sabellian,  although  it  could  hardly  shake 
off  th(3  suspicion  of  teaching  "  homoiusian". 

But  not  only  did  science  prepare  the  victory  for 
the  homousios,  the  course  of  the  world's  events  did 
so  as  well.  In  Yalens  the  Orient  obtained  a  power- 
ful Arian  emperor.  The  orthodox  and  homoiu- 
sians  had  to  go  into  exile,  and  they  drew  nearer  to 
each  other.  They  again  sought  su]>port  from  the 
orthodox  West.  Liberius  of  Rome;  was  not  disin- 
clined, and  Basilius  of  Oaisarea  was  after  o70  in  vig- 
(;rous  activity.  Yet  Damascus  of  Rome  returned  to 
the  old  harsh  standpoint,  and  it  needed  several 
synods  (in  the  seventies)  to  convince  him  of  the 
orthodoxy  of  the  new  orthodox  Orientjds.  These  at 
last  signed  (at  Antioch  IiT'.i)  tlu^  formulas  of  faith  of 
Damascus,  without,  however,  being  able  to  settle  the 
schism  in  Antioch.  But  the  subscription  was  already 
a  sequence  of  the  world- historical  events  tliat  in  the 
year  375  in  the  West  the  youthful  (iratian,  wholl}' 
devoted  to  the  Church  and  orthodoxy  (Damascus, 
Ambrose)  succeeded  the  tolerant  Valentinian,  and 
after  ;378  became  sole  ruler  (Yalens  died  at  Adri- 
anople  contending  against  the  Goths).  Tn  the  year 
370  the  orthodox  Si)aniard  Theodosius  was  elevated 
iu  'oiU'ut.   to  be  co-regent  and  emperor  of  the  Orient.     He  was 


(iratiaii 

Sut'oi't'ils 

'.'alt'iitiii- 

iuii. 


Tlicodo- 

sius  Bc- 

cipiiii's  Em- 


DKVELOPMENT    OF   DOfTRINK   OF    TNCAHN ATIoX.     '2(1:') 


(IcU'i'inincd  to  govern  the  (*hurch  likc^  Coiist.uitius, 
but  ill  the  souse  of  sfricf  Oecidontal  orthodoxy  :  The 
celebrated  ediet  of  Thessalonica  showed  this  in  the 
year  ;}8(>  (issued  by  the  emperor  imnuMliately  after 
his  baptism*).  He  deprived  the  Arians  of  all  their 
churches  in  Constantiiiopli*  and  forbade  the  heretics 
in  general  to  worship  in  the  cities.  But  he  soon  per- 
ceived that  he  could  rule  in  the  Orient  onl}'  with 
Oriental  orthodoxy,  that  he  dare  not  apj^ly  the  severe 
standard  of  the  West,  and  that  he  must  win  half- 
friends  entirely  over.  He  called,  therefore,  in  '^Sl  an 
Oriental  council  at  the  capital  and  ai)pointed  as  pre- 
siding officer  Meletius,  that  is,  th(»  leadc  o'  Hie  new 
orthodox  party  in  Antioch.  Thereby  he  of  course 
gave  offence  to  the  Occidentals  and  Eg5'ptians,  but 
securcMJ  to  himself  the  Cappadocians  and  the  Asia 
Minor  theologians.  At  the  synod  the  contrast  was 
so  strongl}'  expressed  that  a  rupture  was  near  at 
hand  (the  new  presiding  officer,  Gregory  Nazian- 
zen,  had  to  resign).  But  finally  the  synod  (150  bish- 
ops) proclaimed  theNicene  doctrine  sans  2)Ji rase,  the 
complete  homoousion  of  the  three  Persons,  and  also 
expelled  the  Macedonifms.  In  fact,  however,  "e(iual- 
ity  of  being  ''  concpiered  in  the  sense  of  "  equality  of  es- 

*"Ci()K'/o.s  popnlos  .  .  .  //I  tali  ruliiinJtn  rcUiiUinc  firsari.  (pKiiii  (U- 
vinum  Pi-tnim  (ipostdl.ini  triuddisse  Romdiiis  nlhiin  k.sv/iu'  <t(l  nunc  <ib  ijiso 
itisinnatd  dirldytit  (juaiiKjur  pontifirctn  rhtnidsiiin  sr./iii  rhd-ct  H  I'ctnuii 
Ah'xnncfriue  eiiiscopum  rirniii  opostoticiic  sdiicfitafis,  lioci'it,  iif  m-cioKhim 
apotitolicdtii  (lisciplinniii  cvdiigclirdiiiqin-  ddctrindin  /idtiis  vt  J'llii  if 
spiritits  sdHcti  inidm  ilcitatcni  i^iib  pari  tudii  stdtc  it  khI)  jtia  triiiitdti- 
credonius.  Hanc  legem  seqtientes  Chn'stidnorinn  eiiiholii-orum  noiiun 
uihemiis  (nnplecfi,  reliipios  vera  demrntfs  n-sdiioyijiic  iidlirtntfts  ha'retici 
ddfpiiatis  iiifdinidiH  sutitinrre.  diviud  j)riniu))i  ritidictd.  pust  elidin  inutua 
iinst)i\  (luem  e.r  cwhsti  (irhitrio  suiiipsvrhnun.   iiltioiic  pli 4tijndns", 


J! 


(Vniiu'il   of 

CoIISlHIlti- 

nople. 


a 


h 


'..'01 


OlThlNIvS   OF   TlIK    HISTORY    OF    I)()(JMA. 


Cn'cd    (if 
Cuiistuiiti- 

lICpll'. 


s('iic(»'\  not  unity  of  csscHcc.  lint  tlic  s3'inl)ol,  wliich, 
Hiiico  about  4r)()  in  the  ( )ri('nt  and  ^)'M)  in  the  ( )cc'i(lent, 
is  fonsidored  to  Ik*  thatof  tliis  synod  and  obtained  tho 
highest  ronsideration  in  the  Chnreh  and  which  has 
supplanted  the  Nicene  :is  l)eintj;'  only  a  mere  nominal 
('nlarg(»ment  of  it,  is  not  the  symbol  of  tliis  synod, 
w'hieh,  moreover,  was  only  by  a  (/Kid  pro  quo  after- 
ward stamped  as  eemnenical.  Tlu»  so-called  Con- 
stantinopolitan  creed  is  older;  it  is  the  baptismal 
symbol  of  Jerusalem,  probably  edited  by  Cyril  soon 
after  'MYl  when  he  accomplished  his  transition  from 
semi-Arianism  to  the  '<>fj.->(>n<Tc<i>,\  In  it  the  "  ^x  r>;^< 
oorria?  Tn^>  -azfio's "  is  wanting,  and  it  contains  a  formula 
about  the  Holy  Spirit  which  does  not  proclaim  the 
orthodox  doctrine,  but  avoids  the  cjiiestion  at  issue 

(ro     xnillD'/,    To     !^till>Z<l'Jiy,     To    iX    TiP>     nUTftn^i     i/.~(li)£0()flZ'^<r^      7<) 

(Tuv  ~ar in  xa]    0'<_i    <yu'^~i<<)(7xtr/ii'>iii'^()v    y.ni    (Tov<lii^(/.^ii;j.e'/<iv    To 

Xah](7a,>  tita  t(7)>  rytufr^Tib'^) .     How  it  Came  into  the  rec- 
ords of  the  synod  (through  Cyril?  EpiphaniusV)  and 
how  it  afterwards  became  the  symbol  of  the  council 
ticivi'       is  (juite  obscure.     Still  ecclesiastical  legend-making 

Legt'uil- 

Makiug.  iij^s  iiere  exercised  a  strange  justice  in  appending  to 
the  synod  of  the  newly  orthodox  bishops  a  symbol 
in  which  the  anti-Arian  anathemas  and  Nicene 
watch-words  are  wanting.  In  reality  under  the 
cover  of  the  v!io<,oiTtog  men  indeed  continued  in  the 
Orient  in  a  kind  of  liomoiusianisni,  which  is  to 
this  day  orthodox  in  all  their  churches.* 

♦Concerning   ll»i"  symbol   soc   my  article  in  Herzojc's  R.  Encyclop.  3. 
Aurt 


DKVKI.Ol'MKNT   f)!'    hoCTKINK   nK    1\(  AKNATION.     '2n5 


'i'ii(«  orcidnit  was  hij^iiiy  dispii-ascd  witii  tho  ,i;*;;i;!;;i;i, 

course  1)1"  llic  synod,  sinco,  among  otiior  tilings,  it  council, 
had  acknowledged  tli(*  orthodoxy  of  nion  who  in 
R(^nio  were  strongly  suspected.  Ke})resontations 
were  made,  a  schism  was  threatened.  I'ut  tlie  ( )rient 
was  no  longer  disjjosed  to  hend  further  under  tho 
dogmatic  rule  of  Rome,  and  Theodosius,  keeping  tho 
two  lialves  of  the  empire  sei)arat(\  rcMuained  firm 
and  ])rndent,  and  avoided  consenting  to  a  general 
council,  which  (iratian  (Amhrose)  wished  t(^  call. 
In  the  year  l{S->  thev  dn>w  nearer  together,  since  in 
Rome,  as  well  as  in  Constantinople,  synods  wi^re 
contemporaneously  in  session,  and  since  these  showed 
themselves  more  conciliatory  regarding  personal 
questions — to  this  point  tho  controversy  had  nar- 
rowed down  inasmuch  as  the  Antiochian  schism 
continued.  But,  above  all  this,  circumstance  gn^atly 
contributed  to  a  reconciliation;  the  spirituid  leader 
of  the  Occident,  Ambrose,  went  to  school  to  the 
science  of  the  Cappadocians  and  became  powerfully 
influenced  by  it. 

In  the  year  381  jperhaps  nine-tenths  of  the  Orient 
was  Arian,  Theodosius  endeavored  to  frighten 
them,  later,  however,  also  to  win  them  (synod  of 
3813  at  Constantint)ple ;  even  Eunomius  was  invited) . 
But  soon  he  abandoned  the  gentle  method  and  Am- 
brose seconded  him  in  the  West.  One  dare  assume 
that  most  of  the  Arian  and  semi-Arian  Greek  bish- 
ops did  submit;  only  the  extreme  left  r<.*mained  firm 
(Eunomius) .   More  rapidly  than  Hellenism  did  Arian 


III  381 
Niiic- 
rciiths  Df 
<  )ii»'iit 
AriuD. 


!! 


I  ■ 


ii 


n, 


(  ' 


2C)C, 


OUTfJNKS    OK    TIIK    lllSTOin'    OK    I)0(;MA. 


ism  (Ii(f  out  amorifj^  thn  (ii'('<'ks.  Truo,  tlic  ortliodox 
l.iyiiicii,  always  consiu'vativo,  coiisiikn'oU  the  ortlio 
ilox  foi'iiuila  luoro  as  a  nocessary  evil  and  an  iiiox- 
pliral)l(>  mystery  than  as  an  oxpivssion  of  their  faith. 
The  victory  of  orthodoxy  was  a  triumph  of  priests 
and  tlu'oloj^ians  over  the  indeed  deeply  rooted  faith 
of  the  ])eople;  but  it  did  not  make  this  faith  an}' 
clearer. 


Supplement  :  The  Doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  of  the  trinity. 

Doctrinoof  1.  Siuce  the  early  davs,  jdono:side  of  a  belief  in  the 
Spirit.  Father  and  Son,  there  was  a  belief  in  the  Holy  S])irit ; 
but  what  the  latter  was,  m*  wdiat  significance  it  has, 
became  wholly  obscure  after  the  declining  of  Mon- 
tanisni  and  the  retiring  of  the  combination  "spiritus- 
ecclesia".  The  scientific  theology  of  the  apologists 
did,  in  general,  not  know  what  to  do  with  it,  and 
even  in  the  ;}d  century  the  majority  viewed  the  Holy 
irencpiis,    Spirit  as  a  power.     However,  alrcnidy  Irenteus  and 

Tertulliau. 

Tertallian  tried  to  honor  it  as  a  divine  power  within 
the  Ueit}'.  Tertullian  admitted  it  as  "  God  "  and  as 
"  Person "  into  his  descending  but  consubstantial 
trinity  {JUio  subicctus).  Now  the  Neo-Platonic 
speculation,  science,  also  found  three  Divine  hy- 
oripen.  postases  ncccssary.  Origen  in  accordance  with  and 
following  the  Bible  took  the  Holy  Spirit  into  his 
theology  as  the  third  constant  Being ;  to  be  sure  as  a 
creature  subordinate  to  the  Son,  governing  the  small- 


I>KVKM)I'.MKNT   ( H'    DOCTUINK   <  H'    INCAKNATION.     20? 


pst  spluM'c,  file  circlf  (if  lli(>  s.iiict illrd.  Tlio  inaiincr 
of  (lisposinj^  of  tlic  (loctriiir  mI'  the  Holy  Spirit  l»y 
IVrtiilliaii  and  <)rij<('i),  \vli<tlly  an  a  logo  as  to  tlicir 
treatment  of  tlie  Lo^-os-doctrini^,  shows  that  in  gen- 
eral there  did  not  exist  a  s|)(»eilli' ( 'hrisliati  inter(»st 
in  Ihis  |i(.iiil  oi  docti'ine.  'i'hat  Sahellius  also  was  siihoiiius. 
obligcil  to  take  into  view  the  II  'ly  Spirit  is  only  a 
proof  tliat  the  claims  of  tli(»  general  seitMititie  doctrine 
of  the  trinity  and  of  the  Hihlical  formulas  could  no 
longer  he  j)assed  over. 

NevcM-theless  within  the  churches  and  among  the     /.'VnI!! 

maioritv  of  the  hish(^])s  no  notice  Avas  taken  of  these     o'nrsii.,ii 
••        •  *  .  till  ith 

scholarly  advances,  even  hy  the  beginning  of  tlu»  4th     e.ntury. 

century;  the  Xicene  creed  itself  merely  gives  a  place 
to  tlu>  belief  in  tlu^  H<)ly  Spirit,  without  addition  or 
explanation.  Athanasius  during  the  fu'st  decade  never 
thought  of  it.  Whoever  considered  it  Divine  in  the 
full  sense  deemed  it  a  ])ower;  he  who  conceived  it  as 
I)ersoiial,  took  it  for  something  (piit(>  suboi'dinate  :  Tn 
fact  it  was  really  only  a  word  ;,  id  it  remained  such 
within  the  trinity  even  afterward. 

The  Arians  solicited  the  farther  formulation  of  the 
doctrine,  since,  by  the  concession  of  the  inferiority 
of  the  Holy  S])irit,  they  were  able  to  sujiport  ea;ily 
the  subordination  of  the  Son.  Exactly  for  this  Rea- 
son, however,  the  orthodox  became  thoughtful. 
Athanasius,  after  about  :j58,  gave  his  attention  to  ihri^'ALi-T 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  never  wavered  a  moment  in  re- 
gard to  the  formula:  Since  he  must  be  worshipped, 
he  is  »^£'3s^  uriudixT'.o^^  like  the  Son,  and  belongs  in  no 


Arians 
niscuss 

C^llrsliiill. 


I' 


II  : 


I 


n 


'■.I 


^^i^  -■  .0. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


// 


Zi 


1.0 


I.I 


'25 


1^ 

lis 


^  m 


1^    1^ 


2.0 


1.8 


U    IIIIII.6 


V] 


<^ 


/i 


O^  ■    v> 


y 


/A 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


4^ 


# 


#; 


4^-^ 


^\ 


^Q> 


V 


6^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


V^ 


0 


M  < 


I 


1 


'  i  ; 

' 

■,^i 

n  ' 

i, 

iM 

M 

208        OITUNIOS    OK   TlIK    IlISToKV    OK    fXMJ.M  A. 

Irwprtfd  In    scUSC    lo    tllc  WOI'M   ('7>y>.   <l<l  Si'tdlt.).       At,    tllC  SVlKul 
Nii-.,-n.'  .  . 

cret'd,  (,f  Alexandria  this  (Uu-triiic^  of  \\\v  \\n\y  Spirit  was 
]/iacv(l  iindur  the  protection  of  tlio  Niceiie  creed:  He 
who  denies  it  is  a  hypocritical  Arian  (the  attempts, 
it  is  tru(\  to  discriminate  between  the  agenc}'  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  that  of  the  Son,  remained  empty 
words).  But  thus  strongly-  did  the.  Occident  agree 
to  this  formula — in  the  Orient  not  only  the  Arians 
but  also  the  semi- Arians  saw  in  it  a  manifest  inno- 
vation; even  those  who  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Son 
accepted  the  htnnousios  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
novum,  and  took  under  Macedonius,  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, a  firm  stand.  Yet  more — even  the  Cap- 
padocians,  although  they  countenanced  the  formula, 
and  confessed  the  lack  of  all  tangible  tradition,  ad- 
vised the  greatest  caution  and  considered  it  necessary 
to  keep  back  the  formula  at  first  as  a  mystery,  ap- 
pealing to  the  fact  that  it  was  indeed  sustained  only 
by  a  -a/>iwrTt<;  uyitaifixi.  In  their  embarrassment  in  as- 
signing to  the  Holy  Spirit  a  proper  kind  of  being  in 
relation  to  the  Father,  they  decided  to  attribute  to 
him,  according  to  John,  the  eternal  txTzs/ifj't^  and  l<"<'>f>- 
^vorlt^^  e'"T£s\  But  after  302  the  theologians  in  the  Occident 
on  Orient.  Were  indefatigable  in  imposing  upon  the  half-won 
Oriental  brethren  the  Holy  Spirit  as  '^eo?  oimo'xTuts^, 
and,  in  union  with  the  Cappadocians,  they  succeeded. 
It  is  true  that  still  in  the  year  381  the  Macedonians 
(pneumatomachoi)  were  invited  to  the  synod,  but 
only  to  hear  their  condenmation  and  to  be  expelled. 
The  anathemas  of  Damascus  strengthened  the  situa- 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    l>0(  THINE   OF    INCARNATION.     0<'.'.> 

tion.  Honroforth  one  was  no  longer  pcnnittc*!  to 
teach  that  the  Holy  S})irit  is  subordinate  to  th(*  Son; 
indeed,  since  to  the  Greek  the  Father  remained  the 
root  of  the  Deity,  the  homousios  of  the  Spirit  seemed 
safely  secured  only  when  he  is  traced  back  to  the 
Father  alone,  the  Son  thereby  not  bi-ing  taken  at  all 
into  account. 

2.  The  Cappadocians,  and  before  thom  their  great  ^^inns^^Ui^- 
teacher  ApoUinaris,  established  the  orthodox  doctrine  Trinity. 
of  the  trinit}'  (vid.  page  "2 GO) :  One  Divine  essence 
in  three  Subjects,  the  ecjual  nature  of  which  contained 
in  their  consubstantialit}-  is  distinctly  stami)ed  in 
their  qualities  and  activities;  their  diirerences  in  the 
characteristics  of  their  mode  of  being ;  but  the  Father 
alone  is  fihar^,  the  two  others  airtara^  yet  not  as  the 
world  is  (really  Tertullian  had  already  used  the  for- 
mulas "  nature  "  and  "  person  " ;  to  him,  however,  the 
trinity  was  still  entirely  a  trinit}^  of  revelation,  not 
of  immanence).  By  means  of  the  trinity,  so  they 
now  said,  Christianity  is  distinguished  from  the 
pagan  polytheism  and  the  "stark"  Jewish  mono- 
theism. 

Ever  since  the  appearance  of  the  homoiusians,  re-  rSnlJi^nf 

Triiiitv 

gard  for  Christology  exerted  in  the  Orient  an  infiu-  Has  suhor- 
dinatiini 
ence  upon  the  establishment  of  the  doctrine  of  the    Eit-ment. 

trinity  (there  also  nature  and  person;  <''/i(ii(i»na  origi- 
nated there,  and  also  the  turning  to  account  of  the 
analogy  of  the  conc(»]»tions  "  humanity  "  and  "  Adam  " 
in  their  relation  to  tiie  individiud  man.)  A  sulxtr- 
dination  and  Aristotelian  element  remained  in  the 


Jl 


11 


It 


270       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


■  \ 


I  i 


H%; 


Oriental 
and  ()c(i 
(lotital  Con- 
cept ions 
iJissiiuil.u'. 


trill ity-(l<x'trino  of  Oriental  orthodoxy,  and  in  the 
later  Christological  contest  the  latter  was  drawn  into 
sympathy  with  it  (however  not  strongly;  for  it  had 
grown  already  too  stubborn).  A  few  Apollinarian 
nionophysites  w^orked  after  530  upon  the  conceptions 
"  nature  "  and  "  person  "  in  Christology  in  an  Aristo- 
telian way,  and  thus  also  arrived  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  trinity  at  tritheism  or  Jit  niodalism  (^'Wrv  = 
''>zn(T7ain,;  Askusnages,  Johannes  Philoponus,  Peter  of 
Kallinico;  against  these  Leontius  of  Byzantium  and 
John  of  Damascus).  The  latter,  in  ojjposition  to  tri- 
theism, gave  to  the  dogma  of  tiie  trinity  a  turn  ap- 
proaching the  Occidental  concei)tion  (the  ny^'^r^'ria  is 
formally  declared  equivalent  to  the  yt^^riTia^  the  t-' 
(uXr^hm  of  the  three  Persons  is  strongly  emphasized, 
thereby  the  ~-i>''/,(i>!>'>,<^'-'>^  but  not  (ruviumcr^  and  (r'>ii.<f>>i)f7t.<i ; 
the  difference  existing  only  for  the  l-i-oui) ;  this  con- 
ception, how'.^H^r,  remained  without  effect,  since  in 
the  most  decisive  point  it  allowed  the  tlno  subordina- 
tionism  to  continue :  Joiin  also  taught  that  the  Si)irit 
proceedeth  (tlu)ic  froiti  the  Fidliar  {i.e.  through  the 
Son).  The  Father,  therefore,  remains  the  'if/jj  of  the 
Deity.  Conse(]uently  it  is  one  spiritual  picture  which 
the  Orient,  and  again  another  \vhicli  the  Occident, 
formed  of  the  trinity;  in  the  former  the  Father  re- 
mained the  root  of  the  two  airiara  ;  the  full  reciproc- 
ity of  all  three  Persons  appeared  to  the  Orientals  to 
jeopardize  the  monarchy,  and  especially  the  deduc- 
tion of  the  Spirit  from  the  Son  to  jeopardize  the 
liomousion.     Here  Photius   (8G7)   struck  in,  search- 


Hmm^fi'M,'-' 


"ij,! 


1«: 


DEVKLOI'MENT   OF    IXX^THINE   OF    INCAKNATION.     2*1 

ing  for  a  dogmatic  point  of  dispute,  and  rcproachod  'll',','!,';'^!' 
the  Occidentals,  who  taught  the  inuiKOii'ntc  ]>rn-  pruci-ssio. 
cessio  of  the  Spirit  from  the  P^ither  ami  Son,  with 
innovati(nis,  even  willi  Manichiean  dualism,  and 
heightened  this  reproach  with  the  still  severer  charge 
of  falsifying  the  holy  symhol  of  Constantinoj)le  by 
the  addition  of  "y/Z/o^z/c  ".  This  wtml  was  really  an 
innovation  therein  that  had  originated  in  Spain.  A 
contest  broke  out  which  has  never  been  settled,  and   tw.'.n  i:a.si 

nml    WcBt: 

in  which  to  the  Greek  even  the  "  ''£/  -"'  o'.ir>  "  became;  FiU.Miu.'. 
susi)icious.  .  The  (^ccidi-ntals,  however,  were  obliged 
to  cling  to  their  doctrine,  because,  according  to  their 
spiritual  picture  <»f  the  trinity,  they  found  the  true 
faith  expressed  only  in  the  full  unity,  therefore  also 
only  in  the  full  reciprocity  <'f  the  Perstnis.  The 
Greeks  did  not  understand  this,  because  secretly  they 
always  remnined  cosmologically  interested,  just  as 
the  doctrine  of  the  trinitv,  under  incessant  scientific 
treatment,  has  remained  the  vehicle  which  the  phi- 
losophy of  anticpiity  has  handed  down  to  the  Slavic 
and  Germanic  nations:  It  contains  the  Christian 
idea  of  the  revelation  of  God  in  Jesus  and  the  testa- 
ment of  the  ancient  philosophy  in  a  most  peculiar 
mixture. 

In  the  Occident  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity  had  not 
as  a  rule  been  treated  as  an  object  of  speculation.  The 
uniff/  was  the  safest  thing,  discrimination  between 
substance  and  person  was  understood  more  in  tlu^ 
sense  of  a  (through  the  jurispiudcnce)  vnrreni  form  (tl 
distinction.     Augustine  in  his  great  work,  "  de  trin- 


AiifTiistinp 

l>(Mtririt'  (if 

Tiiuity. 


,  r 


ii  i 


n 


!  I 


272        OrTMNKS   OK   THK    HISTOKV    OK    DOCJMA. 


;,i«i 


ii 


it(ife^\  intended  to  give  exi)ressi()n  to  fhis  oonreption 
of  the  trinity  by  nu»ans  of  (Neo-Platonie)  science, 
but  he  was  guided  also  by  his  rehgious  consciousness 
wliich  knew  only  one  God.*  The  consequence  was 
a  complete  obliteration  of  every  remnant  of  subordina- 
tionism,  the  changing  of  the  Persons  into  relations 
(the  old  Occidental  modalism  merely  veiled) ;  but 
at  the  same  time  there  arose  such  a  mass  of  contra- 
dictory and  absurd  formulas  as  to  cause  a  shudder 
even  to  the  author  himself,  now  exulting  in  the  in- 
comprehensible and  now  skeptical  (the  three  together 
are  ecjual  to  one;  the  ;d)solute  simple  must  be  under- 
stood as  triple ;  the  Son  takes  an  active  part  in  his 
generation;  sunt  semper  uivieeni^  neuter  solus;  the 
economical  functions,  also,  are  never  to  be  thought 
of  as  separate — therefore:  dicfuin  est  ^'tres  per- 
sonae'\  non  iif  illud  (h'eeretur,  seel  ne  faceretui). 
This  confession  and  the  analogies  which  Augustine 
makes  use  of  regarding  the  trinity  (they  are  alto- 
gether modalistic)  show  that  he  himself  never  could 
have  hit  upon  the  trinity,  if  he  had  not  been  bound 
to  tradition.  His  great  work,  in  which  naturally 
also  the  procession  of  the  Spirit  from  the  Father  and 
Son  is  emphasized — for  in  ever}'  act  all  three  are 
concerned — became  the  high  school  for  the  technico- 
logical  cultivation  of  the  intellect  and  the  mine  of 
scholastic  divinit}'  in  the  iMiddle  Ages.  Through 
Augustine,  first  tlu;  Spanisli  cluirch,  then  others  also, 

*  III  rc^riii'ti  to  Augustine's  rfljitinn  to  (lie  fstulilislmifiit  of  tin' Oriental 
doctrine  of  tiie  trinity,  see  Renter,  /eitsclirift  f.  KirchenROSoh.  V.  :^75  seq. 
uml  VI.   15o  scq. 


n 


ind 

ire 

:o- 

of 

lital 

]ieq. 


DE\^:LOrMENT   OF    DOCTKINK   OF   INCARNATION.     *273 

permitted  themselves  to  be  induced  to  proclaim  the 
Jilioque. 

The  paradoxical  formulas  of  the  Augustinian  doc- 
trine of  the  trinity,  which  deny  every  connection 
with  the  history  of  revelation  and  with  reason,  but 
possess  their  truth  in  the  endeavor  to  sustain  com- 
plete monotheism,  l)ecame  wide-spread  in  the  Occi- 
dent and  were  comprised  in  the  so-called  Sijniholnni 
AtJici)iasia)iu)n,  which  arose  gradually  during  the 
Cc'irly  part  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  was  on  its  recej)- 
tion  (8th  to  0th  century)  proclaimed  as  holy  Church 
doctrine.*  "He  who  will  1x3  saved  nuist  believe 
them",  i.e.  must  submit  to  them.  In  the  Athanasiau 
creed  as  a  symbol  stands  foremost  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  trinity  doctrine,  as  an  inwardly-to-be- 
adopted  thought  of  faith,  into  an  ecclesiastical 
law,  upon  the  observance  of  which  salvation  de- 
pends. With  Athanasius  the  '''imo'xTuii  was  the  de- 
cisive thought  of  faith ;  with  the  Cappadocians  the 
intellectually  (jver-subtle  theological  dogma;  with 
the  later  Greeks  the  hallowed  relic;  with  the  later 
Occidentals  the  ecclesiastical  law  which  demands 
obedience. 

*  On  tlif  "Athanasianum  "  sec  Kiillncr.  Symbolik  I.  M  mn.  nnd  th« 
works  of  Foulkes  (1871),  Swainson  (1875),  Otumancy  (1875),  Luniby  (1887). 

18 


Paradoxi- 
cal 
Formuhus. 


Syinholum 
Athaiia- 
sianuni. 


i; 


1 

ii  * 


■  I' 


■■ 


u 


'Wfl 


ri>^ 


I;    -V 


It  n 


Iliiiiianity. 
of  (  hrist. 


274       OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  DDCTHINK  OF  THE  PEIlFKrT  EgUALITY  AS  TO 
NATTRE  OF  THE  INCARNATE  SON  OF  CJOl)  AND 
HUMANITY. 

Souiros:  The  fr.ii;inonts  of  Ajiollinnris,  tlie  writiii^^s  ui 
Atli.'inasius,  of  tlio  I'appadocians  and  of  the  Autiochians. 

The  qnotttioii  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ  was  only 
l)rej)aratory  totliO(jiU'sti(>n  of  the  union  of  tlie  Divine 
and  human  in  Christ.  Into  tliis  jn'ohleni  the  whole 
of  dogmatics  flowed.  Irenanis,  and  afterward  Atha- 
iiasius,  had  estaljlished  the  Divinit}'  of  the  Redeem- 
er with  respect  to  redemi)tion,  i.e.  upon  that  assump- 
tion. 

But  the  (piestion  of  the  union  presupposed  not  only 
a  precise  conception  of  the  Divinity,  but  also  of  the 
humanity  of  the  Redeemer.  True,  in  the  gnostic 
contest  the  reality  of  the  (r<ii>^  of  Christ  had  been 
secured  (Tertull.,  de  came  Cliristi) ;  yet  a  fine 
docetism  had  in  spite  of  it  continued  to  exist,  and 
that  not  only  with  the  Alexandrians  but  also  with 
all  teachers.  Scarcely  one  of  them  thought  of  a  per- 
fect human  self-consciousness,  and  not  a  single  one 
attributed  to  the  human  nature  of  Christ  all  tln^  limi- 
tations which  surround  our  nature.  Origen  cer- 
tainly— and  not  as  the  first — attributed  to  Christ  a 
human  soul  and  a  freewill;  but  he  needed  a  connec- 
tion between  the  God-Logo^-  and  mailer,  and  he  has 
shown  definitely  in  his  Chi  i.-^lology — in  so  far  as  he 


DKAKLOI'MENT    OF    DOCTKINK    (>K    INCAIiNATK  ►N. 


«» 


I .) 


a 


(lid  ii(»l  separate  tli<' Jesus  and  tlic  (*!iri-t  -tlwit  \\\v 
most  evident  docetisin  remains  active  when  niw 
coiu'civos  tlio  ""'V'^,  because  wlmlly  material,  as  with- 
out (juality  and  cajtahle  of  every  attrilnite. 

With  the  ( )rigeni  >tic  thi-olns^ians,  and  amon^' tlie 
Christian  |)Ooj)lo  generally,  existed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  4th  century  the  most  varii'd  conceptions  re- 
garding the  incarnation  and  humanity  of  Christ, 
Only  a  few  thought  of  a  human  soul  and  many 
thought  of  the  flesh  of  Christ  as  hi'avenly,  or  as  a 
transformation  of  the  Logos,  or  as  a  vesture.  Crass 
docetic  conceptions  were  softened  hy  Neo-Platonic 
speculative  ideas  (the  finiteness  a  moment  within 
the  unfolding  Deity  itself).  No  one  in  the  Orient 
really  thought  of  tiro  natures;  one  eternal  (iod- 
incarnate  nature,  one  nature  having  become  (lod- 
incarnate,  a  Divine  nature  having  been  changed  for 
a  time  into  human  nature,  a  Divin(^  nature  dwelling 
in  the  human,  i.e.  clothed  in  the  covering  of  human- 
ity— these  were  the  prevailing  couce})tions,  and  the 
answers  were  just  as  confused  to  single  (juestions 
(Was  the  llesh  born  *A'  ^lary,  or  the  Logos  Vvith  the 
tlesh?  Was  the  Christ  made  man,  or  did  he  assume 
human  nature?  Ifow  nuich  can  be  wanting  to  this 
nature  and  it  still  be  considered  human?)  and  to  the 
Biblical  considerations  (Who  suffered?  Who  hun- 
gered? Who  (li(>d?  Who  acknowledged  his  igno- 
rance? The  God  or  the  man,  <»r  the  G'od-man? 
Or  in  reality  an*  not  all  these  -'-"'''/  only  apparent,  i.e. 
ecouumic?).     A  more  or   less  tine  docetism  wa.s  also 


'I  lit'i>ri<'« 
.Mtniit   In- 

(MI'Mlltioll. 


Various 
(^U'stidiis. 


I' 


It 


•  1    ! 


r 


I;. 


rnity  of 

I'tTKOn- 

iility 
Fiirida- 
nifiital. 


Aftollina- 
ris. 


270        Ol'TLINES   OK  THR   HISTORY    OF   DOCSMA. 

in  voncrcto  lau^'lit  in  tin*  Occiilcnt.  Hut  liy  the 
.sido  uf  it,  after  TcitulliMii  .iiid  Novatians,  st(X)(l  upon 
tlio  l)asis  (tf  tlio  svuihol  tlu' juristic  formula:  Two 
.sul)stau('os,  (t}u>  person.  This  formula,  as  though  it 
were  a  protection  and  lioundary  thought,  was  never 
further  inv(^stij^atcl;  but  it  was  destined  to  l)ccome 
some  day  the  saving  phrase  in  the  conflicts  of  the 
Orit'ut. 

The  unHfj  of  the  sui)ernatural  personality  of  Christ 
was  here  the  common  starting-point.  How  to  pro- 
vide a  place  for  humanity  in  it  was  the  problem, 
which  in  its  shari)nesy  and  gravity  Ajjollinaris  of 
Laodicea  first  discerned.  The  Arians  had  given  the 
impulse,  since  they  conceived  the  humanity  of  Christ 
merely  as  '^'i/'^  in  order  to  expr  s  the  full  unity  of 
the  p(»rsonality  of  the  Redeemer  and  at  the  same 
time  to  be  able  to  attribute  to  their  half-divine  Logos 
the  limited  knowledge  and  capability  of  suffering 
found  in  the  Christ.  They  threw  it  up  to  the  ortho- 
dox, that  their  dcjctrine  leads  to  two  Sons  of  God, 
or  to  two  natures  (which  were  still  considered  iden- 
tical) .  Apollinaris  now  recognized  that  this  reproach 
was  justified;  he  made  the  problem  of  his  theology: 
(I)  To  express  just  as  strict  a  unity  in  the  person  of 
Christ  as  Arianism  did  in  its  Logos  clothed  merely 
with  the  'r«/'^,  (•>)  To  unite  with  itthefiill  humanity 
of  Christ.  Here  is  the  problem  which  occupied  the 
Church  of  the  ;5d  century,  and  indeed  Apollinaris  sur- 
veyed it  in  its  whole  range  as  the  chief  problem  of 
Christian  theology,  as  the  nucleus  of  all  expressions  of 


iM 


With  tho  ortiKHinx  ;;--- 


I>EVKI/)I'MENT   OK    l>(>(  THINK   OF    INCAKNATION.     >*^  7 

faitli,  and  Im'  (rcatcd  it  acc'nidinj^ly  witli  tlic  ^ivatcst 
ingciniity  and  witli  a  dialfctics  that  aiiticipati'd  all 
tenniiiologios   of    tlie    tiitun'. 
(AthaiiHsius)  ho  found  fault,  liccausc  thi'j',  in  onU'r 
to  escajR^  tlit^  ()hjo('ti»)ns  of  the  Allans,  and  in  spito 
of  their  iH'ttcr  intentions,  constantly  discriminated 
in  Christ  lu'tweon  what  the  man  and  what  the  (Jod 
did;  tlierehy  is  tlie  duality  estahlished  and  redemp- 
tion  is  made  dependent  thereon;  for  Christ  must  so 
have  been  made  man,  that  everything  which  is  valid 
of  humanity  is  also  valid  of  the  Deity  and  rice  rcrsa 
(true,  Athanasius  never  used  the  expression  '' '"'  v''"t;^^ 
likeOrigen;  but  ho  was  obliged  against  his  will  to 
divide  the  unity  of  the  ^'Y"v  nuftxotfni';  in  its  applica- 
tion).    Ho  censured  the  Arians  because  they  also 
take  away  tiio  comfort  of  redemption  in  so  far  as 
Christ  did  not  assume  entire  humanity,  but  only  the 
flesh.     He  himself,  holding  fast  to  the  idea  of  unity 
as  to  a  rudder,  but  not  rejoicing  like  an  Aristotelian 
in  the  mystery  of  the  faith,  as  did  Athanasius,  estab- 
lished the  doctrine  that  the  God-Logos  had  taken 
unto  himself  human  flesh  and  a  human  soul  (which 
constitute  human  nature  as  nature),  but  not  a  human 
Logos,  i.e. — as  w^e  should  now  express  it — not  that 
which  in  man  constitutes  the  (individual)   })erson, 
therefore  not  free  will.     With  the  thus-constituted 
human  nature,  however,  the  Logos  was  able  to  fuse 
into  a  complete  unity,  because  there  never  existed 
two  subjects;  for  the  rocks  which  ApoUinaris  had 
recognized  as  dangerous  were : 


Also 
AriiitiH. 


t 


II  ' 

1  . 

1      ' 

1 

1 

1 

'' 

1 

. 
1 
1 
» 

i 

1 1 


kJi^: 


hi 


Vii 


i  1. 


m 


iiraily, 
fively. 


a7K       Ol'TI.INKS   OF   THK    HISTOKY    OK   IMHJMA. 

(I)  'I'Im'  idt'.i  of  Iwn  Sons,  i.e.  tlu'  st'piiratiji^'  of 
tli<'  mini  .iiiil  the  ( 1(1(1,  \\\v  .losiis  aiiil  th«'  CluiHt  {"  two 
natiii'i's  .'ire  two  Sons"), 

(".')   Tlu'   conccptioM    that    J<'sns  was   an    'V>.v^w«r:os' 

(.'J)  Tilt'  idea  lliat  lie  liad  a  fire,  clianL^c'aldc  natiuv. 
Tln'  siihjcct  nnisl  l)(>  removed  IVoni  the  Iniinan 
nature  of  Chiist,  otherwis(»  one  wouM  arrive  at  a 
douhle-l)ein^'  (liyhrid,  niiiiotaur);  wlienvis  his  concep- 
tion renders  tho  /''■"■  </"'>Ttsi  nri  h'lynu  tT£<Tanx(it/JL!yr^  clear. 
ProvoHhis  This  Ai)ollinari«  proved  s()teriolo<ncallv  (what  tho 
u'aiiy.'nih-  ^'^'*'^  *^^*^  ^^*"^  niiist  havo  done  and  sufl'ercMl,  othor- 
1(1-  wise  the  same  has  no  power  to  .save:  ''/»'i/>o)r:no  {hhazn>; 
on  xaTUfiYzl  r^>v  fhharny ;  tlu'  Deity  hecanie  through  Christ 
the  >"^'V  and  /''j-'^'  of  tlie  entire  humanity;  the  human 
nature  became  tlu'ough  Christ  the  ^'i/'^  of  the  Deity), 
Biblicall}' — he  was  a  very  able  (»xegete — and  specula- 
tively (the  human  nature  is  always  the  thing  moved, 
the  Divine  is  the  mover;  this  relationship  comes  in 
the  ^>''/'"v  (Tui>/.inft£i<i  to  its  perfect  development  and 
manifestation;  Christ  is  the  heavenly  Adam,  who 
consecpientl)' possesses  incarnatitni  potentially;  in  a 
hidden  way  he  always  was  i"'"'V' --vTa/'^tr^;  his  flesh  is 
vixonnnio^  to  liis  Divinity,  because  he  was  fitted  for 
incarnation;  therefore  is  the  incarnation  in  no  way 
accidental  and  differs  from  all  mere  inspiration;  the 
Logos  is  alwaj's  Mediator — ustott^^ — between  Deity 
and  humanity ;  however,  one  does  not  know  how  far 
Apollinaris  went  here) . 
'Two^'^one.       If  the  mysterj''  two  =  one  (see  the  parallel  to  the 


HKVKI.oI'MKNT   OF    IMXTIJINK    OF    IN(  AKN ATION*.     %»70 


inysti'ry,  tlircc  <»ii<')  is  .it  ;ill  to  Im'  drscrilM'd,  tln'H 
tluMloctriiH'  <•!'  Apolliiiiiris,  ir.t'usun'd  l»y  tlu'  lirrsup- 
positions  and  aims  of  tlic  (jlrcck  conception  of  Chris- 
tianity as  ri'li;^ion,  is  ftrrfccf.  For  tliis  reason,  loo, 
ho  found  faitiifnl  disciples,  and  all  moTiophysitrs, 
yos,  even  the />/o//.s'  (J reek  orthodox  arejit  the  lM>ttoni 
Ai)ollinarists  :  The  acce[)tance  of  an  individual  human 
Dcrsonality  in  Christ  does  away  with  his  power  as 
Redoemcr,  just  as  the  idea  of  two  unmixed  natures 
robs  th«»  incarnation  of  its  effect.  For  that  reason 
Apollinaris  struck  out  the  liuman  »>'>•{  like  all  Gnn-k 
believers  l)ef()re  and  after  him — he,  however,  openly 
and  (»ner|j,etically. 

But  the  demand  for  a  coninlctr  human  nature  onco    f^j"""*'  '^' 
proclaimcd  could  no  lonj^'er  bo  passed  over  in  silence:    Apoiihrn- 
One  could  still    say  according  to  Apollinaris,  that     sec«iei. 
the  hum.'m   '■">■">   would  not  bo   saved;    the   doctrine 
of   God  also  appeared  to  totter,  if  God   was  made 
to  havo  sufl'ered.     Therefore  the  /V//  humanit}'  was 
ahvady  acknowledged  at  the  Synod  of  .Akwandria, 
30:2,  and  the  Cappadocians  rose  against  their  revered 
teacher,  who  was  obliged  (^TA)  towithch-aw  from  the 
Church,  but  formed  a  church  of  his  own;  the  West 
also  condemned  him.     The  full  homousios  of  Christ 
with  humanity  was  exalted  to  a  doctrine.     Certainly 
the  gospel  reports  had  a  part  therein ;  but  that  which 
the  Cappadocians  were  ?\blo  to  set  up  in  opposition 
to   Apollinaris   were  only   wretched   formulas,   full  ^'uoSCf*^ 
of  contradictions :    There  are  two  natures,  and  yet 
only  one ;  there  are  not  two  Sons,  but  the  Divinity 


1 


hiJ' 


Mli 


^rn'i 


UlH' 


f 


Nest<,^rian 
Cimtro- 
versy. 


280        OT^'T.TNKS   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOOMA. 

acts  in  Clirisl  in  one  way,  the  Innnanity  in  another; 
Christ  had  human  freedom,  but  acted  under  Divine 
necessity.  In  reality  the  Cappadocians  thought  like 
Apollinaris,  hut  they  had  to  make  a  place  for  the 
"perfect  man",  while  the  Greek  piefij  did  not  de- 
mand this  consideration.  The  sovere^ignty  of  faith 
had  dictated  the  doctrine  to  Apollinaris;  he  added 
tt  the  Athanasian  ''/jmnotno^  the  corresponding  Chris- 
tology;  like  Athanasius  he  hesitated  at  no  sacrifice 
for  the  sake  of  his  faith.  Hiw  opponents,  however, 
in  upholding  th-j  full  humanity  (human  subject)  did 
after  all  a  great  service  to  the  Church  of  the  future. 
They  were  now  obliged  to  try  and  reconcile  the  con- 
tradictions (not  two  Sons,  and  y^t  two  independent 
natures) .  In  what  form  that  was  to  issue  no  one 
knew  as  j-et. 

CHAPTER    IX. 

CONTINUATION:  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  PERSONAL 
UNION  OP  THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN  NATURE  IN 
THE  INCARNATE    SON  OF  GOD. 

Sources :  Tlie  writings  of  Cyril  and  of  the  Antiochians, 
the  acts  of  the  councils.,  Hefele.Concilieugesch. ,  Bd.I.and  II. 

1.  The  Nestoriaii  Controversy. — How  can  the 
complete  God  and  the  complete  man  be  united  in  one 
being?  The  most  zealous  opponents  of  Apollinaris 
were  his  comjDatriots,  and  in  part  also  his  philosoph- 
ical sympathizers,  the  Antiochians.  They  deduced 
from  the  formula,  "  complete  God  and  complete  man", 


DEVELOPMENT   OK   DOfTRTNR   OF   INCAHNATION.     ".^Sl 


the  r()ns(>(Hioiu'G  of  two  difforont  natures.  Diodorus 
of  Tarsus  and  above  all  Theodore  of  Mopsiiestia, 
distinguished  for  their  sober  theology,  excellent  exe- 
gesis and  severe  asceticism,  were  thorough  Nicenes, 
but  they  at  the  same  time  rightly  recognized  that 
complete  humanity  without  freedom  and  chang(\ible- 
ns^s  is  a  chimera;  conse(j[uently  Deity  and  human- 
ity are  contrasted  and  cannot  b}'  any  means  be  fused 
into  one  (incapable  of  suffering,  capable  of  suffering). 
In  accord  therewith  they  constructed  their  C*hris- 
tology,  which  was  therefore  not  fashioned  according 
to  soteriological  conceptions,  but  rather  by  the  evan- 
gelical picture  of  Christ.  Christ  consists  of  two  sep- 
arate natures  (no  iVwr^^  (^•unt/.r;) ;  the  God-Logos  as- 
sumed the  nature  of  an  individual  man,  that  is,  ho 
dwelt  therein;  this  indwelling  was  not  substantial, 
and  also  not  merely  inspirational,  but  xara  xa/ni.  i.e. 
God  united  and  joined  (T'ji/'/^;r«)  himself  to  the  man 
Jesus  in  an  especial  manner,  yet  analogous  to  his 
union  with  pious  souls.  The  Logos  dwelt  in  Christ 
as  in  a  temple;  his  human  nature  remained  su])stan- 
tially  what  it  was;  but  it  developed  itself  gradually 
to  a  perfect  condition  and  constancy.  The  union  was 
therefore  only  a  relative  one  {I'^iom^  tr^sr'.xrj)  and  it 
was  in  the  beginning  only  relatively  perfect;  it  is  in 
itself  a  moral  union ;  but  by  the  verification  and  ex- 
altation one  adorable  subject  was  finally  and  forever 
exhibited  {yinpiXo)  t«9  ipnnzii^  IvCo  ty^v  7:f)o(Tx'')>r/t7(.').  The- 
odore uses  the  later  formula  ;  "  Tivo  natures,  one  per- 
son " ;  but  with  him  the  unity  of  the  person  is  merely 


Diodiiiiis 

of  Tarsus 

and  Tlu'M- 

(lore  of 

5IO}J8U- 

estia. 


Two 
St'paruto 
Nuturi'8. 


Two  Na- 
tures, Uue 
Persou. 


\ 


1 1 


: 


It 


ll 


I  >»■ 


ft;" 

lb 


I 


Ill '     'ir 


Anthropos 
Enth»'(xs. 


2H2       OUTLINES  OF  THE   ITTfJTORV   OF   DOGMA. 

one  of  names,  of  honor  and  adoration;  in  no  sense  a 
substantial  unity.  He  has  (juitc*  distinctly  two  per- 
sons, because  fu-o  uatnrcs  (person  =  nature)  and, 
besides,  for  believers  an  adorable  -jinfrut-ov.  Of  nii 
incarnati(jn,  therefore,  one  maj"  not  definitely  speak, 
but  only  of  an  assumption  of  the  man  on  the  part  of 
the  Logos.  The  functions  of  Jesus  Christ  are  to  lie 
strictly  distributed  between  the  Deity  and  humanity. 
To  call  Mary  ^'^sorn ■/.„.;  is  absurd. 

This  doctrine  is  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
Samosatians  only  by  the  assert  ion  of  the  i^ersonal- 
ity  of  the  God-Logos  in  Christ.  In  truth  is  Jesus — 
invito  Theocloro — nevertheless  an  «>'V"^""^"  vAhoii. 
That  the  Antiochians  contented  themselves  with 
this  was  a  consequence  of  their  rationalism.  How- 
ever deserving  of  acknowledgment  their  spiritual 
conception  of  the  problem  is,  still  they  were  farther 
removed  from  the  conception  of  redemption  as  a 
new  birth  and  as  forgiveness  of  sin,  than  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  realistic  idea  of  redemption.  They 
knew  of  a  Perfecter  of  humanity  who  conducts  it 
through  knowledge  and  asceticism  unto  a  new  xard- 
<Tra<T£?,  but  they  knew  nothing  of  a  Restorer.  But 
since  they  did  not  docetically  explain  away,  or  by 
accommodation  set  forth  the  human  qualities  of 
Christ,  they  held  before  the  Church  the  picture  of  the 
historical  Christ,  at  a  time  when  the  Church  was 
obliged  to  depart  in  its  formulas  of  doctrine  farther 
and  farther  from  the  same.  True,  a  picture  could 
have  no  great  effect  in  which  they  emphasized  the 


i 


DEVELOrMEXT   OF    nOPTUINE    OF    INCAHXATION.     '^Sl} 


\ 


points  of  empty  fiVLuloin  .-iiid  cipacily  of  sulTiM-ing 
equall}'  with  wisdom  and  asceticism. 

Their  opponents,  the  Alexandrians,  relied  upon 
the  tradition  which  embarrassed  the  Antiochians, 
that  Christ  possessed  the  Divine  physis  and  th.at  he 
really  became  man;  their  deductions  hicked  till  431, 
aitll  even  later,  apprehensible  clearness;  but  that 
could  not  be  otherwise;  and  their  faith  was  all  the 
surer.  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  in  many  respects  de- 
serving of  little  esteem,  strove  for  the  fundamental 
idea  of  piet}',  like  Athanasius,  and  luid  tradition  on 
his  side.  This  piety  demanded  only  a  strong  and 
sure  declaration  of  the  mystery,  nothing  more  {tuut:^ 
-pii(T/.uviinHo)  Tn  n/ifn^zov).  Upon  the  throrcfical  state- 
ment of  the  faith  Cyril  never  wasted  many  words; 
but  he  was  immediately  in  danger  of  transgressing 
the  limits  of  his  idea  of  faith,  whenever  he  sought 
to  explain  the  myster}',  and  his  terminology  was  in- 
definite. His  faith  did  not  proceed  from  the  histor- 
ical Christ,  but  from  the  God  who  was  made  man. 
This  God  was  incorporated  in  i\\Q  coniplete  hmnan 
nature^  and  yet  he  remained  the  same.  He  did  not 
transform  himself,  but  '  o  took  humanity  into  the 
unity  of  his  being,  without  losing  any  of  the  latter. 
He  was  the  same  afterwards  as  before,  the  one  sub- 
ject. What  the  body  suffered,  he  suffered.  There- 
foie  Cyril  used  with  special  preference  the  following 
phrases :  el's"  xa)  o  aoTo<i^  namely,  the  God-Logos,  !'':'«> 

izotsTv  rrj'y  ffa/txa  otxo'^ontxw'^^  ;j.-fi^/r^xe.i  nzsp  r^v^  ix  d''i(>  (J'nrreojv 
els',  (TuvthufTC'i  duo  ipijaiu)v  xa^  ivutaiv  iWidoTiaaxo'^  dffuv^nrioii 


Cyril  or 

Aii'x.iii- 

di-iu. 


Tlu'ory  of 
I  near- 
nut  iuu. 


I 
It 


■1 


;!  ,. 


Ti  ■? 


i 


Logos 

Assumes 

Humuu 

Nature. 


Cyril  Real- 
ly Mono- 
phyaitic. 


284        f)UTLINKS   OF   THK    HISTOIIV   OF   DOGMA. 

xai   aTpiT:roi<;,       IlcilOG  :    'xwTfs'  (fnnwi]   (/«''/'  (tr.i'inro.av^   aud 

Ilia  (f'tnii  *"•'  ''^^"'^  /'YOU  nz(Taftxo>>i.ivfi) .  Tho  difference  be- 
tween <p>')T(^^  and  or.t'xTzcKT'.^  QyvW  hardly  touched  upon. 
Yet  he  never  said  l^  5'><>  nrtxTTdneiov^  or  (■'uxn.^  z«ra  (fbno. 
With  him  if'xn'i  and  uzi'xTTani'i  coincide  as  regards  the 
Divine  nature ;  as  regards  the  human  nature  they  do 
not.  He  rejected  the  idea  that  Christ  became  an 
individucd  man,  although  he  acknowledged  all  the 
constituents  of  humanity  in  Christ.  Christ  is  the 
Logos  which  has  assumed  hum  an  nature;  onl}-  thus 
can  he  be  the  Redeemer.  Before  the  incarnation 
there  were,  according  to  Cyril,  tiro  natures,  there- 
after only  one,  to  wit :  The  God-incarnate,  which  is 
distinguished  as  ''>£w/>t''-£  tJ-ihr^.  The  Deity's  capacity 
for  suffering  is,  to  be  sure,  not  the  consequence  of 
the  unity;  but  the  Logos  suffers  in  his  own  flesh. 
Nevertheless  he  is  '"'e''?  (TTaupujfhii;  and  Mary  is  f^ttinhiKi. 
For  that  reason,  also,  can  the  '7«'/'c  Christ i  in  the 
eucharist  give  Divine  life ;  for  the  same  is  filled  with 
the  Deity. 

This  conception  is  at  the  bottom  pure  monophys- 
itism ;  but  it  does  not  wish  to  be  so,  and,  in  assert- 
ing the  humanity  of  Christ  as  not  to  be  explained 
away,  it  guards  against  the  consequent  monophys- 
itic  formula.  Cyril  was  really  orthodox,  that  is,  he 
taught  what  lay  as  a  consequent  in  the  orthodox  doc- 
trine respecting  Christ.  But  the  contradiction  is 
apparent — both  natures  were  to  be  present,  una- 
bridged and  unmixed,  inclusive  of  a  human  Logos, 
and  yet  there  should  be  but  one  God-incarnate  na- 


n  lii 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     285 

tiire,  and  the  human  part  is  subjectless.  It  is  also 
apparent  that  the  picture  of  the  real  Christ  cannot 
be  maintained  by  this  view:  Docetic  explanations 
must  necessarily  be  admitted  {i.e.  accommodation). 
But  this  doctrine  is  after  all  more  valuable  than 
that  of  the  Chalcedon  creed,  because  by  it  faith  can 
make  it  clear  to  itself  that  Christ  assumed  the  com- 
plete human  nature,  substantially  united  it  with 
himself  and  elevated  it  to  the  Divine.  The  contro- 
versy broke  out  in  Constantinople  through  the  vain, 
blustering,  but  not  ignoble  bishop  Nestorius  (l'^8), 
who,  hated  by  the  Alexandrians  as  an  Antiochian 
and  envied  for  his  chair,  stirred  uj)  hatred  impru- 
dently by  his  sermons  and  by  his  attacks  \\\)on  those 
favoring  Cyril,  and  specially  by  branding  the  word 
y'^e<)r6xo<i  and  the  like  as  heathenish  fables.  He  sought 
now  to  eradicate  the  "  rottenness  of  Arius  and  Apol- 
linaris" ;  as  a  Christologian,  however,  he  by  no  means 
stood  at  the  extreme  left  of  orthodoxy,  like  Theodore. 
He  stirred  up  an  agitation  in  the  capital ;  the  monks 
and  the  imperial  ladies  were  against  him,  and  Cyril 
now  took  a  hand  in  it.  The  formulas  which  each 
used  did  not  sound  very  differently — Nestorius  him- 
self was  rather  inclined  to  agree,  with  reservations, 
to  the  I'hoTuxo^ ;  but  behind  the  formulas  there  lay  a 
deep  dogmatic  and  ecclesiastico-political  contrast. 
Cyril  fought  for  the  one  God-incarnate  nature,  and 
for  primacy  in  the  Orient.  He  was  able  to  gain  over 
for  himself  the  Roman  bishop,  to  whom  at  that  time 
the  bishop  of  Constantinople  seemed  a  more  power- 


Nestorius. 


M 


I.' 


1^  ? 


f      1 


•f  ■ 


,»r: 


'■  1 1- 

,     i 


.# 


'It 


J; 


280        OUTLINES   OF   TTIE   IIISTOKY   OF  DOGMA. 

Coeiestius.  f,i|  j-jval  than  the  ono  of  Alexandria.  Coulcstius, 
also  personally  irritatod  at  Ncstorius,  roi)udiatcd  his 
own  Chri stole )|^ical  view  which  ap})r()achod  very 
nearly  to  that  of  Nestorius,  joined  the  anathematiza- 
tion of  C3'ril  and  demanded  of  Nestor i us  a  recanta- 
tion. Cyril,  hurling  counter-anathemas  against 
Nestorins,  compelled  the  calling  of  a  general  council 
hy  the  emperor  who  favored  him.     But  ho  was  able 

connrii  cf  to   dircct  the  general  council  at  E])hesus   (431)   in 

Eplu'sus.  "^  i  \         / 

such  a  manner,  that  from  the  beginning  it  ])egan  to 
split.  The  decrees  ofy.  the  Egyptian-Roman  party 
were  recognized  afterward. 5  as  the  decrees  of  the 
council,  while  the  emperor  did  not  originally  recog- 
nize either  these,  or  the  decrees  of  the  Antiochian 
party.  Cyril  allowed  no  new  symbol  to  be  estab- 
lished, but  caused  the  deposition  of  Nestorius  and  the 
declaration  of  his  own  doctrine  as  orthodox.  Con- 
trarywise  the  Council  which  was  held  by  the  Anti- 
ochian sympathizers  deposed  Cyril.  The  emperor 
at  first  confirmed  both  depositions  and  as  regards 
N.storins    Nestorius  the  matter  rested  there.     He  died  in  exile. 

iMi's  in 

Exile.  -gj^j^  Cyril,  influential  at  court,  succeeded  in  main- 
taining himself,  and  in  order  not  to  lose  his  influ- 
ence, he  even  formed  in  the  year  4'.]')  a  union  with 
the  Antiochians,  whose  ambiguous  creed  stood,  ac- 
cording to  the  text,  nearer  to  the  Antiochian  theol- 
ogy. Yet  for  that  very  reason  Cyril  remained  master 
of  the  situation,  and  he  knew  how  to  strengthen  more 
and  more  the  Al(^xandrian  doctrine  and  the  ecclesias- 
tical domination. 


i'.,M. 


vmrtmBi*^^ 


Dioscuros. 


DEVEI-OPMENT   OF   DOCTKINE   OF   INCARNATION.     287 

2.  The  Enfi^rhfdii  iUnitvoversn  (vid.  Mansi,  Acts  '''('S";;',?" 
of  the  Councils,  VI.,  YII.).— Cyril  died  in  the  year  '"^^' 
•444,  and  tliero  were  people  in  his  own  i)arty  who  had 
never  forgiven  the  union  of  4;)3  which  he  made 
through  the  desire  to  rule.  Dioscuros  became  his 
successor;  he  was  not  equal  to  him  and  yet  he  was 
not  unlike  him.  Dioscuros  endeavored  to  carry  out 
the  scheme  of  his  predecessor  in  the  chair  of  Alexan- 
dria, to  make  of  Egypt  a  domain,  to  rule  the  Church 
of  the  Orient  as  pope  and  to  actufdly  subject  to  him- 
self emperor  and  state.  Already  Theopnilus  and 
Cyril  had  relied  upon  the  monks  and  the  masses  in 
this  matter,  and  also  upon  tlie  Roman  bishop,  who 
had  an  eipial  interest  in  suppressing  the  bishop  of 
Constantinople.  They  had,  furthermore,  relaxed  the 
union  with  Greek  science  (contest  against  Origen- 
ism),  in  order  not  to  displease  the  gretit  power  of 
the  age,  pious  hco-hdrism.  Dioscuros  seemed  to 
really  gain  his  object  under  the  weak  emperor  The- 
odosius  II.  (council  of  Ephesus,  441») ;  but  close  upon 
the  greatest  victory  followed  the  catastrophe.  This 
was  brought  about  by  the  powerful  empress  Pulcheria,  v-mn 
and  her  consort  Marcian,  who  recalled  to  mind  once 
more  the  Byzantine  state-idea  of  ruling  the  Churcli, 
and  through  Leo  I.,  wdio  at  the  decisive  moment 
relinquished  the  traditional  policy  of  the  Roman 
chair  to  assist  Alexandria  against  Constantinople, 
made  common  cause  with  the  emperor  and  ])ish()p 
iif  the  capital  and  overthrew  Dioscuros.  I->ut  at  the 
moment  of  his  fall,  tlie  opposition  between  the  hith- 


rpss 
leria. 


L<"<)  I, 


,11 

1  " 

!; 

it  ' 


i 


N 


( 


fl 


.«   ! 


I 


^ 


:  i:  ! 


.«'( 


i  ,■'    I 


If'-; 


■n  i 


nv\ 


*      - 

■I'r 


288        OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

erto  uiiitt'd  powers  (omporor  and  pope)  was  destined 
to  oonio  out.  J^oth  wanted  to  take  advantage  of  tlio 
victory.  Tiie  emperor  was  not  willing  to  surrender 
the  Church  of  the  Orient  to  the  pope  (who  had  lx3en 
called  ui)on  for  assistance),  although  he  set  up  the 
dogmatic  formula  of  the  pope  as  the  only  means  of 
saving  the  Oriental  Church ;  and  the  i)ope  could  not 
endure  that  the  patriarch  of  the  capital  should  sup- 
plant the  other  patriarchs  of  the  Orient,  that  this 
church  as  a  creature  of  the  emperor  should  be  at  the 
latter's  beck  and  call,  and  that  the  chair  should  be 
placed  on  a  level  with  that  of  St.  Peter's.  In  con- 
rouncii  of    Be(iuence  of  the  Chalcedon  council  the  state  indeed 

Chalcedon.  '■ 

momentarily  triumphed  over  the  Church,  but  in  giv- 
ing to  the  same  its  own  dogmatic  formula,  which  had 
more  than  half  the  faithful  against  it,  it  split  the 
empire,  laid  the  foundation  for  the  secession  of  large 
provinces,  south  and  north,  strengthened  its  most 
powerful  adversary,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  at  a  mo- 
ment when  by  the  fall  of  the  West  Roman  empire 
the  latter  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Occident,  and 
thus  prepared  a  condition  of  affairs,  which  limited 
the  Byzantine  dominion  to  the  eastern  Mediterra- 
nean coast  provinces. 

These  are  the  general  circumstances  under  which 
the  Eutychian  controversy  occurred,  and  thereby 
is  declared  what  an  important  part  politics  had 
in  it. 
Eutyches.  Througli  the  union  of  433  the  Christological  ques- 
tion had  already  become  stagnant.     According  to 


M^^ 


ll 


DEVKLOI'MENT   OF   DOCTKINE   OK    INC'AHNATION.     280 

the  interpretation  of  the  fornuibi,  cvcrylxxly  could 
be  taken  for  a  heretic.  The  Alexandrian  doctrine, 
which  really  tallied  with  the  faith  of  tho  Orientals, 
made  in  fact  more  and  more  profijress  in  spite  of  the 
energetic  counter-efforts  of  the  honest  and  l)est-hated 
Theoilore;  and  Dioscuros  carried  himself  like  a  chief 
bishop  over  Palestine  and  S3'ria.  Tho  »>m])eror 
surrendered  the  Church  to  him  outright.  Dioscuros 
persecuted  the  Antiochian  sympathizers,  endeavored 
to  exterminate  the  phrase  "two  natures",  and  even 
allowed  creeds  to  pass  which  sounded  suspiciously 
Apollinaristic.  But  when  the  old  Archimandrite 
Eutyches  in  Constantinople  expressed  his  Cyrillian 
Christology  in  terms  like  the  following:  "  My  God  is 
not  of  like  essence  with  us,  he  has  no  awiia  >hi'f/)wzi)u^ 
but  a  (Tcofia  (hf^i>w-v,ir/\  j)ersonal  opponents  (Domnus 
of  Antioch,  then  Eusebius  of  Dorylseum)  took  this 
occasion  to  denounce  him  to  the  patriarch  Flavian, 
who,  himself  no  decided  Christologian,  pro.  1  by 
the  opportunity  to  get  rid  of  an  ecclesiastic  favored 
by  the  court.  At  a  sj^nod  in  Constantinople  (44S)  j,p^p",[J,"  ^, 
Eutyches  was  condemned  as  a  Valentinian  and  nopK'm 
ApoUinarist,  although  he  after  some  hesitation  ac- 
knowledged the  formula :  "  Out  of  two  natures,  one 
Christ".  From  both  sides,  the  court,  the  capital 
and  the  Roman  bisho])  were  now  set  in  motion. 
Dioscuros  saw  that  the  moment  for  settling  the  ques- 
tion of  power  had  come,  but  not  less  did  Leo  I. 
While  the  former  obtained  from  the  emperor   the 

calling  of  a  council  and  was  being  equipped  for  it 
19 


•  ■       t\ 


(   !•     I  : 


w 


<        i 
1 


200       OUTLINES   OP   THE   IIISTOKY    OF   DO(iMA. 


^0  '. 

I-,  ''  'i:' 


I  - '.'  '   M 


l>     ' 


H  ■ 


I/etter. 


with  uiiluNird-of  sovereignty  as  tlu'  trur  popo,  the 
latter  now  saw — in  sjnte  of  tlie  decision  of  liis  prede- 
cessor, Ca'lestius,  in  favor  of  CVril — in  Eutyches  the 
worst  heretic,  in  Fhivian  his  dear,  persecuted  friend, 
and  souglit  to  frustrate  the  council  by  numerous 
letters  to  influentinl  jwrsons  and  he  wrote  to  Flavian 
the  celebrated  epistle,  in  which,  as  respects  Chris- 
^bratpd^"  ^*'l*>Ky»  ^^^  Veered  toward  the  Tertullian-Augustinian 
conception.  In  this  letter  the  dcx'trine  of  two  natures 
is  strictly  carried  out  {'^  ctrfit  vtraque  forma  cum 
altering  commrniionc,  (/nod  proprium  esf^  verba 
scil.  operante  quod  rerbi  est  et  came  exsequenti 
quod  caniis  <^s•/"),  and  the  old  Occidental,  juristic 
expedient  exi)ounded,  that  one  must  believe  in 
one  Person,  which  has  two  separate  natures  (sub- 
stances) at  its  disposal, — an  expedient  which  is 
truly  neither  monophj'sitic  nor  Nestorian,  since  it 
sharply  distinguishes  between  the  Person  and  the 
two  natures,  and  therefore  really  introduces  three 
magnitudes ;  but  it  certainly  stands  nearer  to  Nesto- 
rianism  and  does  not  do  justice  to  the  decisive  inter- 
est of  faith,  but  excludes  every  concrete  form  of 
thought  and  consecjuently  satisfies  neither  piety  nor 
intellect.  Besides  this  Leo  knows  only  the  heresies 
of  docetism  and  Samosatianism.  Leo  certainly  ac- 
knowledges in  his  letters  the  interest  of  our  redemp- 
tion; but  he  gave  an  interpretation  which  Cyril 
would  have  strong!}"  repudiated. 

In  August  (NO)  the  great  council  of  Ephesus  as- 
sembled imder  Dioscuros'  direction.     Rome  was  at 


Council  of 

Ephoaus, 

449. 


m 


DEVKhOl'MKNT   OK   DOCTKINK   OK   INCAKNATION.     2H1 

first  tn'titcd  as  non-fxisU'iit,  tlu'ii  liiiinl)KMl  in  tlio 
IKTHons  of  its  legates,  who,  moreover,  aeteil  with 
uncertainty.  Dioscuros  put  througli  the  resohition 
that  the  matter  must  sto])  with  the  synods  of  Nie;ea 
and  Ephi'sus  (t.')l),  wliich  expressed  the  old  creed: 
"After  the  incarnation  there  exists  one  incarnate 
nature";  no  symhol  was  estahlished ;  Eutyches  was  i^i'ii.stutr.d. 
reinstated  and,  on  the  hasis  of  the  Nicene  creed,  the 
chiefs  of  the  Antiochians;  but  at  the  same  time  Fla- 
vian, Eusebius  of  Dorylteum,  Theodoret,  and  Dom- 
nus  of  Antioch  were  deposed;  in  short,  tlie  Church 
WHS  thoroughly  purified  from  "  Nestorian ism".  All 
this  was  done  with  almost  unanimity.  Two  3'ears 
later  this  unanimity  was  declared  as  enforced  by 
many  bisho})s  who   had   taken    part    {httrocinimn   uiumKphe- 

sinum. 

Eplicsiniiniy  says  Leo).  Dioscuros  certainly,  with 
the  aid  of  his  fanatical  monks,  terrorized  the  synod, 
but  a  far  stronger  pressure  was  afterwards  necessary 
at  Chalcedon.  Dioscuros  in  reality  raised  the  faith  of 
the  Orient  to  a  tixed  standard,  and  the  incomparable 
victory  which  he  enjoyed  had,  unless  foreign  powers 
(the  state,  Rome)  should  interfere,  the  guarantee  of 
permanence.  But  Dioscuros  roused  against  himself 
the  pope  and  the  Byzantine  state-idea,  and  did  not 
calculate  upon  the  wide-spread  aversion  to  the  right 
wing  of  his  army,  the  masked  Apollinarists.  He 
rehabilitated  Eutyches,  without  expressly  condenm- 
ing  the  doubtful  ti'rms  which  he  and  his  followers 
habitually  used. 

On  the  :i8tli  of  July  (450)  Pulclieria  and  Marcian    a'»d  l.o. 


iili2       OUTLINES  OF  THE   IIISTOKY   OF  DOGMA. 


t''i 


t; 


!V 


,  i'  ' 


I 


rniincil    of 
Chalcedoii. 


Dioscuros 
Deposed. 


succeeded  TlicodoHiim;  until  tlion  Leo  had  vainly 
ondcuvored  to  raise  uj)p08ition  to  the  council.  Now 
Marcian,  who  wa.s  detenninod  to  hreak  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Alexandrian  hi.shops,  stood  in  need  of 
hiin.  Leo  desired  the  condemnation  of  Dioscuros 
and  the  acceptance  of  his  own  didactic  epistle  with- 
out (I  counvil;  but  the  enii)eror  was  obliged  to  in- 
sist upon  one,  in  order  to  brinj;  about  a  wholly  new 
order  of  things.  Such  a  one  could  succeed  only  if  a 
now  dogmatic  formula  were  ostal)lished,  which  placed 
the  Egyptians  in  the  wrong  and  still  did  not  yield 
the  point  to  the  Antiochians.  Politics  counselled  the 
formula  of  the  Occident  (Leo's)  as  the  only  way  out. 
Tho  council  really  took  place  at  Chalcodon  in  451 ; 
U)  the  pontiiicial  legates  were  conceded  the  places  of 
honor;  Leo  had  instructed  them  to  derogate  nothing 
from  the  dignity  of  Rome.  The  greater  part  of  the 
500  to  GOO  bishops  were  like-minded  with  Cyril  and 
Dioscuros,  highly  opposed  to  all  Nestorianism,  hos- 
tile to  Theodoret;  but  the  emperor  dominated  the 
council.  It  was  settled  that  Dioscuros  must  be  de- 
posed and  a  dogmatic  formula  in  the  sense  of  Leo's  ac- 
cepted, since  the  decree  of  449  was  annulled  as  having 
been  "extorted".  But  it  was  just  as  sure  that  the 
memory  and  doctrine  of  Cyril  must  not  be  sacrificed, 
Dioscuros  therefore  was  deposed  after  a  most  shame- 
ful process,  not  as  an  heretic,  but  on  account  of  his 
disobedience  and  irregularities.  The  majority  of 
the  bishoi)s  disavowed  their  past  before  the  face  of 
the  imperial  commissioners  and  abandoned  Dioscuros 


r  .Mi-!''   '■ 


-iiHri  mx^'Um^n 


I»KVKI,()I'MKN'r   OK    DOCTKrNK    Ol'    INC  A  IfNATION.     *.*0.*l 


iiiid  t'n»  (Ij'cn'c  of  I  lit ;  Imt  only  Itv  f.ilsr  ropn'snita- 
tions  juid  threats  did  the  hishops  allow  themselves  to 
ho  induced  to  ackno\vled«^e  the  canon  of  I.eo,  wliich 
every  Oriental  conld  not  hut  uiiderKtand  as  Nesto- 
rirtH,  and  to  sanction  tlie  doctrine  that  also  after  the 
incarnation  there  were  firo  natures  existent  in  Christ. 
Even  at  the  last  iiour  it  was  attenijtted — altluiuj^h  in 
vain — to  exalt  to  a  dojj^nia  a  merely  nohOixd  distinc- 
tion hetween  the  natures.  At  the  r)th  sittinj^  the  d(»- 
creos  of  :{•.*.">,  IJSl  and  \'M  were  confirmed  and  their 
sutficiency  acknowledged,  hut  it  was  remarked,  that 
on  account  of  the  heretics  (who,  on  the  one  side,  re- 
jected the  'Vcor/'z^s'  and,  on  the  other,  desired  to  intro- 
duce a 'T'V;f'^'''>"  -ind  //"<T^'  of  the  natures,  "irrationally 
inventing  only  onr  nature  of  the  flesh  and  th(^  Deity 
and  considering  the  Divine  nature  as  caj)al)le  of 
suffering")  it  was  necessary  to  admit  the  letters  (»f 
Cyril  to  Nestorius  and  the  Orientals,  {vs  well  as  the    Liters  of 

Cyril  ami 

letter   of  Leo.      The  declaration  reads:  r<ih<i  Sno /).':>     l...  a.i- 

iiiittfd. 

Trjv  i'^wni.'  ihtJzhhzDvza^^  dvai'tsfiuri'^et  (this  was  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  thoughts  of  the  heart).     ' i'.-rniwMH  roiviv  to-v 

dyt'nt^  7:arfid(Ttv  Ivaxai  :u'j  fWTuv  n/inXoye'.v  t>li)v  r^v  x'lfitov 
Tj/iwv  V.  .\f).  (70!i.(fiuvio<i  (7ra'^T£i!  ixdil^dn/.oiis'^^  ziltut'^  Tnv  a^r'-v 
iv  I'^edzTjTt  y.at  ziketov  z>)v  anzov  Iv  fh>'f/w)Z''izrjZ(^  I'fsov  uItiHo)^' 
xai  avi^pu)-rnv  dlr^Hwii  zuv  anzuv^  then  it  reads :  i"!^'''  >'i-'-  T/y 
a'Wx  Xpi(7zu'j  .  .  .  -v  d'jt)  tpuazav^  {Ix  ?>>'n)  ipunziav  is  a 
later  correction,  favorable  to  monophysitism)  dnoyyn. 

Tiu<i    dzp-7:z(u^^  ddta(f>-Z(u>i^  uya)ft>(TZiu^  yi'U)fjt!^n/i£'/^  onoa/f.o''  r/^9 


:j 


f ' 


*    I 


204        OUTIJNES   OF   Trip]    ITTSTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


I'f  '  J 


Full 

Iluinanity 

Secured. 


Monophy- 
sitt!  Con- 
troversies. 


iV:  fj.i'i?J.ii>  T/^'j"  '.o'.i'izr^Tii^'  [xari/ii/x  <f'>fr:i»<f^  xai  erV  I'v  zpnirm-uv 
xa>  ii.iav  (>-6(TTa(rv^  fTUyTfi^yii'iirrj^^^  nnx  e;^  ti'in  r.ixKnur.a 
fi£ii'.!^o;i£'.i()v  ij   otai/)<i')r).e'^(»^  a/.h).    s'va   xa>.   rov  anzi'rj   oluv    xiv. 

By  this  distinction  between  natnre  and  person  the 
power  of  the  mj'stery  of  ftiitli  was  paialyzed,  a  con- 
ceivable mystery  established,  and  yet  the  clearness 
of  the  Antiochian  conception  of  the  humanity  of 
Jesus  was  after  all  not  reached.  The  formula  is 
negative  and  cold;  the  pious  saw  their  comfort,  the 
hu)(n<s  ^uT'.xrj^  vanish.  Hov/  shall  our  u((f in-c  profit 
by  what  occurred  in  the  Person  of  Christ?  The 
hated  "  moralism",  or  the  mysticism  of  the  union  of 
the  Logos  with  every  human  soul,  seemed  to  be  the 
consequence.  And,  besides,  one  was  expected  to  be- 
lieve in  a  <f'>fr's  >hor:()fTTafTcg,  of  whicli  hitherto  in  the 
Orient  only  a  few  had  known  anything  I  The  gain 
in  having  now  secured  the  full  humanity  of  Jesus 
as  an  incontestible  article  of  faith,  invaluable  for  the 
future,  was  too  dearlj'  bought.  Peace  was  also  not 
restored.  Emperor  and  pope  were  at  variance  over 
the  28th  canon,  even  if  they  did  not  allow  the  mat- 
ter to  come  to  a  rupture,  and  the  Church  of  the 
Orient  fell  into  dissolution. 

3.  The  Monophiisite  Contests  and  the  5th  Coun- 
cil. (Mansi,  T.  VII-IX;  Loofs,  Leontius  von  By- 
zanz,  1887). — The  century  between  tlie  4tli  and  5tli 
councils  shows  the  most  complicated  and  confuted 
relations;  during  the  time  the  dogmatic  situation 
also  constantly  changes,  so  that  a  short  survey  is 


ESS3tti£OB^B& 


|«».;Wfei#»-;'J 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   IN(  AHNATION.      ,!'J5 


Bents 


iiiipossil)l(\     Therefore  only  a  few   principal  points 
can  be  here  stated. 

(1)  The  opponents  of  the  Chalcedon  creed,  the  ^TOml 
monophysites,  were  snperior  to  the  orthodox  in  creed. 
spiritual  power  and  activity.  In  Egypt,  parts  of 
Syria  and  Armenia,  they  kept  the  upper  hand,  and 
the  emperors  succeeded  neither  by  threats  nor  by 
concessions  in  gaining  them  over  for  any  length  of 
time;  these  provinces  rather  alienated  themselves 
more  and  more  from  the  empire  and  joined  the 
monophysitic  confession  with  their  nationality,  pre- 
paratory to  founding  independent  national  churches 
hostile  to  the  Greek.  In  the  main  persevering 
steadfastly  in  the  doctrijie  of  Cyril  and  rejecting 
the  farther-reaching  Apollinarian-Eutychian  form- 
ulas, the  monophysites  showed  by  inward  spiritual 
movements  that  in  their  midst  alone  the  dogmatical 
legacy  of  the  Church  was  still  alive.  The  newly- 
aw'akened  Aristotelianism,  which  as  scholasticism 
took  the  place  of  Platonism,  found  among  them 
learned  defenders,  who  (John  Philoponus),  to  be  sure, 
approached  in  their  speculation  very  near  to  tri the- 
ism. In  regard  to  the  Christological  (juestion  there 
were  two  main  tendencies  (Gieseler,  Comment,  qua 
Monoph.  opin.  illustr.,  2  Part.,  1835  seq.).  These 
(Severus,  Severians,  "  Agnoetians",  "Phartola- 
treans  ")  were  really  opposed  to  the  Chalcedon  creed 
only  as  a  formal  innovation,  but  agreed  even  to  a 
notional  distinction  between  the  two  natures  in 
Christ,  and,  still  more,  were  zealously  anxious  to 


1 1 
"i 


:         I 


i    i 


!"i 


rnr 


Henosis 
Phusike. 


Adiapho- 
rites. 


296       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 

keep  the  natures  unmixed  and  to  lay  stress  upon  the 
creature-ship  and  corruptibility  (in  theory)  of  the 
body  of  Christ  as  well  as  upon  the  limits  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  soul  of  Christ,  so  that  they  offended  even 
the  orthodox.  They  might  have  been  won,  if  the 
Chalcedon  formula,  i.e.  the  epistolary  teaching  of 
Leo,  had  been  sacrificed.  The  others,  on  the  con- 
trary (Julian  of  Halicarnasses,  "  Aktistetcs,"  "  Aph- 
thartodoketes"),  rejecting  it  is  true  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  one  nature  into  the  other,  drew  all  the 
consequences  of  the  h^cj(7i<i  ipoaur^  \  From  the  moment 
of  the  assumptio  the  body  also  should  be  consid- 
ered as  imperishable  and,  indeed,  as  uncreated;  all 
the  attributes  of  the  Deity  were  transferred  to  the 
human  nature;  accordingly  all  affections  and  re- 
strictions, which  one  observes  in  the  evangelical  pic- 
ture of  Christ,  were  assumed  by  him  freelj'  J«'^ra 
;f«/>£''',  but  were  not  the  necessary  consequences  of  his 
nature.  This  conception,  influenced  solely  by  the 
idea  of  redemption,  alone  corresponds  to  the  old 
tradition  (Irenseus,  Athanasius,  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 
etc.).  Finally  there  were  also  such  monophysites — 
3  ot  certainly  they  were  not  numerous — as  advanced 
to  a  pantheistic  speculation  ("  Adiaphorites  ") :  The 
creature  is  in  a  mysterious  manner  altogether  con- 
substantial  with  God ;  the  ^  vw^r^^  (ponuij  in  Christ  is 
only  the  expression  for  the  general  consubstantiality 
of  his  nature  and  the  Deity  (Stephen  bar  Sudaili; 
the  mystics;  influence  upon  the  Occident;  Scotus 
Erigena).     Since  the  5th  Council  and  still  more  since 


\  A 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     207 

the  advent  of  Irilam,  the  monophysitic  churches  have 
pined  away  in  isolation,  the  wild  national  and  relig- 
ious fanaticism  and  the  barren  phantasy  of  the  monks 
have  delivered  them  over  to  barbarism. 

(2)  Since  coercion  had  no  effect,  a  few  emperors  n.notikon 
sought,  in  order  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  empire, 
to  suppress  temporarily  the  Chalcedon  creed  (En- 
cyclica  of  Basiliscus,  470),  or  to  avoid  it  (Henotikon 
of  Zeno,  482).  But  the  consequence  of  this  policy 
always  was  that  they  won  over  only  a  part  of  the 
monophysites  and  that  they  fell  out  with  Rome  and 
the  Occident.  Thus  arose,  on  the  account  of  the 
Henotikon,  a  thirty-five  years'  schism  with  Rome 
(484-519),  which  served  only  to  make  the  pope  still 
more  independent.  The  emperors  could  not  reach  a 
decision  to  sacrifice  either  Rome  or  the  Orient,  and 
finally  they  lost  both.  In  the  year  511)  the  Chalce- 
don creed  was  fully  restored,  in  alliance  with  Rome, 
by  the  emperor  Justin,  who  was  influenced  by  his 
nephew  Justinian.  But  the  theopaschite  contest 
(enlargement  of  the  trishagion  by  the  addition:  o 
<TTai)pwih\<i  oi  rjfxd?^  i.e.,  the  Validity  of  the  formula: 
"  One  of  the  trinity  was  crucified  " :  They  are  not 
identical,  for  the  one  was  a  cultish  innovation  and 
could  be  understood  in  a  Sabellian  way,  while  the 
other  is  good  orthodoxy)  shows,  since  518,  that  in 
the  Occident  every  Cyrillian  ex})laiiati()n  of  the 
Chalcedon  creed  was  regarded  with  suspicion,  while 
the  orthodox  in  the  Orient  would  tolerate  the  Chal- 
cedon creed  only  with  a  Cyrillian   interpretation, 


Theopas- 
chite  Con- 
troversy. 


'    1  ', 

I; 


H 


s    1 


I" 


!  t 


."*■: 


Lt'ontius 

(if  Byzau- 

tiuiii. 


JiiRtinian''3 
rolicy. 


208       OUTLINES   OF   Tin:   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

hoping  thereby  still  always  for  a  reconciliation  with 
the  nionophysites. 

(3)  While  in  the  5th  century  the  Chalcedon  ortho- 
doxy had  upon  the  whole  no  noted  dogmatic  repre- 
sentative in  the  Orient — the  strongest  proof  that  it 
was  foreign  to  the  spirit  of  the  Orient — several  ap- 
peared after  the  beginning  of  the  Gth  century.  The 
formula  had  not  only  in  time  become  more  venera- 
ble, but  the  study  of  Aristotle  above  all  furnished 
weapons  for  its  defence.  The  scholasticism  not  only 
permitted  the  retention  of  the  Chalcedon  distinction 
between  nature  and  person,  but  even  also  welcomed 
it  and  gave  to  the  formula  still  a  strong  Cijril- 
lian  interpretation.  This  was  brought  about  by 
the  Scj'thian  monk,  Leontius  of  Byzantium,  the  most 
eminent  dogmatist  of  the  Gth  century,  the  forerunner 
of  John  of  Damascus,  and  the  teacher  of  Justinian. 
He  pacified  the  Church  by  a  philosophically  conceiv- 
able exposition  of  the  Chalcedon  creed  and  buried 
the  dogma  in  scholastical  technicalities.  He  is  the 
father  of  the  Christological  new-orthodoxy,  just  as 
the  Cappadocians  were  the  fathers  of  the  trinitarian 
new-orthodoxy.  Through  his  doctrine  of  the  en- 
hypostasis  of  the  human  nature,  he  paid,  in  the 
form  of  a  fine  Apollinarianism,  full  regard  to  the 
idea  of  redemption. 

(4)  Henceforth  the  policy  of  Justinian,  the  royal 
dogmatist,  must  be  understood  as  a  religious  policy. 
By  unexampled  luck  he  had  brought  the  whole  em- 
pire under  his  sway,  and  he  wished  in  like  manner  to 


DKAIOF-OI'MKNT    OK    IXXTIMNK    OK    INCAHXATION.     •,'•.»'.> 


Means 

Usoil. 


sottle  finally  the  law  and  llic  dogmatit-s  of  the  em- 
pire. The  following  p(Mnts  of  view  giiitled  him:  {(t) 
Strict  adhesion  to  the  rcvlxil  te.vt  of  the  Chalcedon 
creed  as  a  capital  decision  e(pial  in  standing-  to 
those  of  Nicasa,  Constantinople  and  Ephesns,  {b) 
Strict  Cyrillian  interpretation  of  the  symhol  (the 
emperor  was  inclined  to  go  as  far  as  aphthartodt)ket- 
ism),  in  order  to  gain  over  the  monophysites  and  to 
follow  his  own  inclination.  The  means  to  it  were: 
(a)  Numerons  imperial  religious  edicts  in  the  sense 
of  the  Christology  of  Lcontins,  {h)  Pnhlic  religions 
discourses,  (c)  The  carr3'ing  out  of  the  theopaschitic 
formula,  [d]  Suppression  of  every  more  liberal  and 
more  independent  theolog}^;  therefore,  on  the  <me 
side,  that  of  Origen,  who  had  many  sympathizers 
among  the  monophysitic  monks,  especiall}'  in  Pales- 
tine, and,  on  the  other  side,  of  the  Antiochian  theol- 
ogy, which  also  still  possessed  numerous  adherents 
(as  the  emperor  had  closed  the  school  at  Athens,  so 
he  intended  likewise  to  close  all  Christian  scientific 
schools;  only  the  scholastic  should  remain),  {c) 
Enforced  naturalization  of  the  new-orthodoxy  in  the 
Occident.  The  execution  of  these  plans  was  rendcM'ed 
difficult:  (1)  By  the  secret  monophysitic  co-regencv  rjmicuUi.'s 
of  the  empress  Theodora,  {'I)  By  the  refusal  of  the 
Occident  to  consent  to  the  rejection  of  the  Antioch- 
ians,  2.  e.  of  the  "  three  articles  "  (person  and  writ- 
ings of  Theodore,  anti-Cyrillian  writings  of  Theo- 
doret,  letter  of  Ibas  to  Maris) .  In  the  later  condem- 
nation of  the  Antiochians,  tlie  Occident  (Facundus 


\: 


tfi'f.i. 


Jl 


(I  I. 

i'  '' 

,1 1 


t  ;     H 


300       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOCJMA. 


■  'Mi 


Iv 


I 


Origen  and 

"Three 
Chapters  " 

Cou- 

demued, 

55:1 


Monergis- 
tic  and 
Mono- 
theletic 
Contro- 
versies. 


of  Hermiane)  rightly  recognized  an  attempt  to  do 
away  with  the  doctrine  of  the  two  natures,  as  Leo 
had  meant  it,  and  to  substitute  in  its  place  a  fine 
monophysitism.  However,  the  emperor  found  in 
Rome  a  characterless  pope  (Vigilius),  who,  in  grati- 
fying the  emperor,  covered  himself  with  disgrace 
and  jeopardized  his  position  in  the  Occident  (great 
schisms  in  the  Occident).  The  emperor  obtained 
the  condemnation  of  Origen  and  of  the  "  three  chap- 
ters " ;  ho  restored  the  dogmatic  ideas  of  the  two 
Ephesian  councils  of  431  and  41!)  without  touching 
the  Chalcedon  creed,  and  he  caused  all  this  to  be 
sanctioned  by  obedient  bishops  at  the  5th  council 
in  Constantinople,  553.  But  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
one  could  now  speak  with  Cyril  of  one  God-incarnate 
nature  (by  the  side  of  the  doctrine  of  the  two  natures) 
and  that  the  spirit  of  Oriental  dogmatism  had  thus 
gained  the  victor}-,  the  monophysites  would  not  be 
won ;  for  the  Chalcedon  creed  was  too  much  detested 
and  the  antagonisms  had  long  since  become  national. 
4.  71ie  Monergistic  and  Monotheletic  Contro- 
versies, the  (}th  Council  and  John  of  Damascus 
(Mansi,  T.  X.  and  XL).— With  the  decisions  of  the 
4th  and  5th  councils,  the  doctrine  of  one  will  in 
Christ  would  agree,  as  well  as  the  doctrine  of  ttvo 
wills.  In  fact  before  the  (Uli  century,  no  one  had 
spoken  of  two  wills  in  Christ ;  for  the  Antiochians 
also  had  said,  as  once  Paul  of  Samosata,  that  the 
human  will  was  entirely  blended  with  the  Divine 
will   (unity  of   will,  not  singleness  of  will).     But 


I' 


-:;w;tJY,-! 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     301 


the  theology  of  Loontiiis  tciidod  on  the  whole  toward 
the  doctrine  of  two  wills.  Yet  it  would  hardly  have 
come  to  a  controversy — the  dogma  had  already,  since 
553,  been  surrendered  to  theological  science  (scho- 
lasticism) and  the  cultus  (mysticism) — if  politics 
had  not  taken  possession  of  the  question. 

The  ])atriarch  of  the  capital,  Sergius,  counselled  Emperor 
the  powerful  emperor  Heraclius  ((510-041)  to  «**''k'"'^- 
strengthen  his  reconquered  territory  in  the  south 
and  east  by  making  advances  to  the  monophysites 
with  the  formula:  The  God-man,  consisting  of  two 
natures,  effected  everything  with  oiie  God-incarnate 
energy.  Upon  this  basis  a  union  was  really  formed 
in  G33  with  many  monophysites.  But  opposition 
arose  (Sophronius,  afterward  bishop  of  Jerusalem),    iionorijis, 

Sophro- 

and  Sergius  in  union  with  Honorius  of  Rome  now 
sought  to  do  justice  to  all  by  giving  out  the  watch- 
word :  One  should  be  silent  in  regard  to  the  energies 
(that  Christ  had  only  one  'V//.r///a  was  still  considered 
self-evident).  Thus  also  ran  an  imperial  edict,  the 
eJdhesis  (iVoS).  But  not  only  in  the  Occident  were 
the  consequences  of  the  doctrinal  letter  of  Leo  re- 
membered, but  in  the  Orient  the  ablest  theologians 
(Maximus  the  Confessor)  were  also  so  attached  to 
the  Chalcedon  creed  through  xVristotelian  scholas- 
ticism, that  they  classed  the  will  with  the  nature  (not 
with  the  Person)  and  therefore  demanded  the  dual- 
ity. Now  even  monotheletism  was  condemned  at  a 
Roman  synod,  OU  (Pope  John  IV.).  The  Orientals, 
who   rejected    the  ekthesis,  lied   to    Carthage  and 


nius. 


Monotht'- 

let  ism  Con- 

(Icmtifd 

at  l!ume. 


I' 

;  I 


M  < 


li, 


I  I 


I  ; 


I,  * 


i  '         i 


;>()2 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 


Two-Will    to   give  orders  to  the  Church 

Ddi'triiie 

at  Rom.',    trine    was    formulated     in    strict 


Rome  and  prct)arcd,  in  union  with  tlie  pojK},  a  formal 
revolution.  This,  indeed,  was  thwarted  (the  ques- 
tion was  as  to  the  freedom  of  the  Church  in  relation 
to  the  state;  the  effort  continued  in  the  image  con- 
troversy). Yet  the  em})eror  found  himself  obliged 
to  surrender  the  ekthesis,  replacing  it  by  the  typos 
which  forbade,  under  severe  penalties,  the  contro- 
versy over  one  or  ttro  wills.  But  Rome  did  not 
consent  to  this  either.  At  the  Lateran  synod,  641) 
(Martini.),  which  many  Orientals  attended,  the  con- 
spiracy continued  against  the  emperor,  who  dared 

The  two-will  doc- 
in  strict  language,  but, 
strangely  enough,  the  right  of  the  correctly  under- 
stood sentence:  /^:'«  (f')<n<^  rob  (^tiv)  h'lyoo  (Tz<Tapxii)iii\>rj  was 
conceded.  A  large  number  of  Constantinopolitan 
patriarchs  of  the  latter  days  were  condemned.  Mar- 
tin showed  signs,  like  a  second  Dioscuros,  of  ruling 
and  stirring  up  the  churches  of  the  Orient,  but  the 
emperor  Constans,  the  sovereign  of  the  pope,  suc- 
ceeded in  subduing  him  (<jo3).  Dishonored  and 
disgraced,  he  died  in  the  Chersonesus.  Maximus 
the  Confessor  also  had  to  suffer.  Constans  soon 
found  in  Rome  more  accommodating  popes,  and 
remained  until  his  death  (COS)  master  of  the  situa- 
tion, making  the  tijpos  of  importance  and  putting 
forward  the  reasonable  expedient,  that  the  two  nat- 
ural wills  had  become,  in  accordance  with  the  hypo- 
static union,  one  h3'"postatic  will. 

The  reaction  which  followed  in  Constantinople  is 


1 


1.^;^ 


i\ 


IS 


DEVELOr.MENT   OK   DotTKINK   OK   INCARNATION.     iiUiJ 

nut  perfectly  clear.     Perhaps  l)ecauso  one  needed  no    IJVirT"' 
longer  to  pay  regard  t(j  the  nionophysites,  perhaps    AK'Ht'hon- 
because ''  science  "  was  favorable  to  the  doctrine  of  two 
wills,  perhaps  becau.se  men  desired  to  fetter,  through 
dogmatic  concessions,  the  uncertain  Occidental  pos- 
sessions and  bind  them  more  firmly  to  the  capital, 
the  emperor  Constantine  Pogonatus  made  advances 
and   scnight   to    entice  the  powerful  pope   Agatlujn 
to  new  negotiations.     The  latter  sent   a  doctrinal 
epistle  as  Leo  I.  once  had,  which  proclaimed  the  in- 
fallibility of  the  Roman  chair  and  the  dyotheletism. 
At  the  Gth   council  in  Constantino])le  (()8(»)  it  was  conmii  of 
carried  through  after  diverse  proposals  of  intermcdi-    ""'''*''  ^'^^' 
ation  and  under  protest,  which  however  finally  ceaseil, 
i.e.  the   formal  consequences  of   the  decree  of  451 
were  deduced  (two  natural  'Vs/r^/zara  and  two  natural 

energies   «<J««:/';r(ws-,    firpizTw^^^    dn.tjti<7rw<;^    dnuy/nrw^;    ill 

the  one  Christ ;  they  were  not  to  be  considered  as 
contradictory,  for  the  human  will  follows  and  does 
not  resist  nor  contradict,  rather  is  it  subject  to  the 
Divine  and  almighty  will;  the  human  will  is  not 
suspended,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  communication 
takes  place:  It  is  the  will  of  the  God-Logos,  just 
as  the  human  nature,  without  suspension,  neverthe- 
less became  the  nature  of  the  God-Logos).  At 
the  same  time  many  of  the  Constantinopolitan  ])atri- 
archs  and  pope  Honorius  were  condemned,  'lluis 
Rome  again  dictated  its  formula,  bc'dancod  the  5th 
council  by  the  0th  and  insinuated  itself  into  the 
Orient.     But  the  agreement  was  of  short  duration. 


\  ■ 

i: 


r         I 


I 

I    I 


<  II 

1 


304        OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY    OF   IXHJMA. 

Already  at  the  second  Trullan  oouiicil  in  i)\)'Z  the 
Orient  took  a  stron^j;  position  against  Rome  in  mat- 
ters of  cult — and  these  were  already  the  more  de- 
cisive things. 
'trov.Tsy""  Tho  form  aids  of  the  Byzantine  dogmatics  are  C)c- 
Dauiu8cu8.  cidental;  but  the  spirit,  which  in  4.'U  and  5o;3  had 
expressed  itself,  retained  in  the  interpretation  of 
the  formulas  the  upper  hand,  and  the  cultus  and 
mystic-system  have  always  been  understood  mono- 
physitically.  On  the  one  side,  this  was  sht)vvn  in  the 
image-controvers}',  on  the  other,  in  the  Christologic- 
al  dogmatics  of  John  of  Damascus.  In  spite  of  the 
dyophysitical  and  dyotheletical  formula  and  the 
sharp  distinction  between  nature  and  person,  a  fine 
ApoUinarianism,  or  monophysitism,  has  been  here 
preserved,  in  so  far  as  it  is  taught  that  the  God- 
Logos  assumed  human  nature  (not  of  a  man)  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  same  was  first  individualized 
by  the  God-Logos.  That  is  the  intermediate  thing 
already  recognized  by  Leontius,  which  has  no  hypo- 
stasis of  its  own,  j-et  is  also  not  without  one  but 
possesses  in  the  hypostasis  of  the  Logos  its  indepen- 
dence. Furthermore,  the  distinction  between  the  na- 
tures was  adjusted  by  the  doctrine  of  the  -c/>j;f<y/yr^/T£9 
and  the  idiomae-communication.  The  ixszadotn^  [nlxei- 
o)iTt<;^  d>T':do(Tt<i:)  of  the  attributes  of  the  two  natures,  the 
Damascan  will  so  definitely  conceive  that  he  speaks 
of  an  £!"9  i'lA^Xa  T(uv  ./i^/iwv  -zj)'.ywi)r,(n'i.  The  flesh  in- 
directly became  truly  God  and  the  Deity  pervades  the 
deitied  flesh. 


*"'"—^'" 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  DOCTRINE  OF  INCARNATION.    305 


e 

;s 

e 


C.-THE  TEMPORAL  ENJOYMENT  OF  REDEMP- 
TION. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE    MYSTERIES   AND   MATTERS   AKIN   TO   THEM. 

Already  in  tho  0th  century  the  dogmatic  (level-  Trft'iitinn- 
opment  of  tho  Greek  Church  wjih  conchuled  and  "''''»"'• 
even  before  that  each  advance  was  obliged  to  con- 
tend against  aversion  and  suspicion.  Tho  reason 
for  it  lay  in  tho  traditionalism  or,  more  correcth',  in 
tho  ritualism,  which  more  and  more  gained  tho 
upper  hand. 

This  ritualism  also  has  a  tender,  religious,  even  Knjnymfnt 

'  '='  '  of  thpi 

Christian  root.  It  originated  in  the  endeavor  to  ^'>'*'^*''"'*'''- 
point  out  and  realize  tho  enjoyment  of  an  already 
present  salvation,  which  springs  from  tho  same 
source  from  which  the  future  redemption  flows — from 
the  God-incarnate  Person  of  Christ — and  which, 
therefore,  is  the  same  in  kind  as  tho  latter.  Origin- 
ally men  thought,  touching  the  present  enjoyment  of 
salvation,  more  of  spiritmd  blessings,  of  knowledge, 
of  the  strengthening  of  freedom  unto  good  works, 
etc.  But  since  tho  future  redemption  was  repre- 
sented as  a  mysterious  deification*,  it  was  only  con- 
sistent that  the}'  should  consider  the  knowledge  also 
as  mysterious  and  to  be  communicated  by  holy  con- 
secrations, and  that,  in  accordance  with  the  idea  of 
a  future  physical  union  with  the  Deity,  they  should 

♦  See  pape  KK),  note. 
20 


i 

M 


I 


'  1 


lit 


«ii 


'If 


■f 


r 

l!     ■     ;  i 


!■! 


li 


Mfttln'His 

Ix'CdIlU'H 

Myslft- 


306        OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 

rndoavor  to  verify  for  t\w  present  time  also  the  way 
unto,  and  foretaHto  of,  this  divinenoss. 

This  tenclency,  however,  leads  directly  over  to  the 
pa^anizinj^  of  (Miristianity  or,  rather,  is  already  a 
S3'mi)t()ni  of  it.  Tho  n'i'''r^'ri'i  hocomcH  fiofTTu^toyiu'^  (ho 
latt(>r,  however,  originally  a  shadowy  union  of  the 
spiritual  and  sensuous,  tends  more  and  more  to  nia<;ic 
and  jugglerj'.  In  this  the  ritual  is  the  chief  thing; 
nothing,  however,  is  more  sensitive  than  a  cere- 
mony; it  does  not  bear  the  slight(\st  change.  In  so 
far  now  as  the  formulas  of  faith  lost  more  and  more 
their  significance  as  ii.d{ir,(n^  and  became  in  ever 
higher  degree  constituents  of  the  ritual,  expressing 
at  the  same  time  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  it,  ?'.<?., 
to  make  divine,  they  permitted  no  longer  of  any 
change.  Wherever  the  dogma  appear  valuable 
only  as  a  relic  of  olden  times,  or  only  in  ritualistic 
ceremony,  there  the  history  of  dogma  is  at  ^in  end. 
In  its  place  comes  the  nn/stagogic  thcol.jgu,  and 
Theology,  jjjjp^^j  ^i^q  latter,  together  and  in  close  union  with 
scholasticism,  took  already  in  the  (Uli  century  the 
place  of  the  history  of  dogma.  The  mystagogic 
theology,  however,  has  two  sides.  On  the  one  side, 
in  creating  for  itself  upon  the  earth  a  now  world 
and  in  making  of  things,  persons  and  times  mys- 
terious symbols  and  vehicles,  it  leads  to  the  relig- 
ion of  necromancy,  i.e.  back  to  the  lowest  grade  of 
religion;  for  to  the  masses,  and  finally  even  to 
theologians,  the  spirit  vanishes  and  the  pJtIegma, 
the    consecrated    matter,    remains.      As    the    Neo- 


Mysta- 


|ig- 
of 

to 

iO- 


DEVELOl'MKNT    01"    DOCTHINK   OK    IN(  AKNATION.     307 

Platonic  pliilosopliy  (li'm-nnal*  d  into  n'lij;;i(»us  bar- 
harisni,  so  also  (irt'clv  Cliristiaiiity,  under  the  iii- 
lluoiico  of  tho  expiring  anticpiity  wliich  iHtiuratlu-d 
to  it  its  highest  ideals  and  idols,  became  image- 
worship.  On  tho  other  side,  the  mystagogic  tlieol- 
ogy  retains  for  the  "knowing  oni's "  its  primitive 
pantiieistic  germ,  tlu;  fundamental  thought  that  (iod 
and  nature,  in  tho  deepest  sense,  are  one,  and  that 
nature  is  the  unfolding  of  the  Di'ity.  The  (Christian 
mystagogic  theologians  also  more  or  less  clearlj' 
thought  out  and  rotaininl  these  ideas.  Through  speru- 
hition  and  asceticism  one  can  emancii)ate  oneself  from 
all  mediums,  mediators  and  vehicles.  Mysterioso- 
pliy  takes  the  place  of  the  mysteries;  those,  like  every- 
thing concrete  and  historical,  become  for  t\w  know- 
ing ones  pure  symbols,  and  the  historical  redemp- 
tion through  Christ  especially  is  explained  away. 

It  is  not  strange  that  two  such  different  forms  as  ranth.>ism, 

"  Fetishism. 

pantheism  and  fetishism,  although  balanced  by  ritu- 
alism, should  be  tho  tinal  product  of  the  devel(»pnient, 
since  both  wore  lodged  already  in  the  begiiming  of 
the  movement  and  are  bk)od-relations;  then  th(>y 
have  their  root  in  the  conception  of  the  substantial 
miity  of  God  and  nature.  Tho  history  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  mysteries  and  of  the  theology  of  mys- 
teries, strictly  taken,  does  not  belong  here,  therefore 
only  a  few  hints  will  follow. 

1.  At  the  beginning  of  tlu^  tth  century  the  Church  J^'>"*' •','.•'"', 
.already  possessed   a  great  array  of   mysteries,   the     ik.s,"'"tc. 
number  and  bounds  of  which,  however,  liad  by  no 


I 


« « 


I 


}i 


|(  ; 


308       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

means  been  definitely  determined.  Among  them 
baptism,  together  with  the  accompanying  unction, 
and  the  eucharist  were  the  most  esteemed;  from 
these  also  some  of  the  other  mysteries  have  been 
evolved.  S3^mbolic  ceremonies,  originall}^  intended 
to  accompany  these  mysteries,  became  independent. 
Thus  confirmation  had  its  origin,  which  Cyprian  al- 
ready numbered  as  a  special "  sacramentum^\  Augus- 
tine pointed  it  out  as  saci\ir.ientiim  chrismatis,  and 
the  Areopagite  called  it  /wtrrrj/nnv  T-XrjT7,<s!it')f>(>o,  Later 
men  spoke  also  of  a  mystery  of  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  of  relics,  of  exorcism,  of  marriage,  etc.,  and 
Six  iHys-    the   Areopagite   enumerates   six   mysteries:    (I'unia- 

xzXD'./ir^/j.i.'iuv.  The  enumeration  was  very  arbitrary; 
myster}^  was  anything  sensuous  whereby  something 
hCy  might  be  thought  or  enjoyed.  They  corre- 
spond-^^J  to  the  heavenly  mysteries,  which  have  their 
sourer  in  the  trinity-  and  incarnation.  As  each  fact 
of  -evelation  is  a  mystery,  in  so  far  as  the  Divine 
ba.  through  it  entered  into  the  sensuous,  so  in  turn 
is  each  sensuous  medium,  even  a  word  or  action,  a 
myster}',  so  soon  as  the  sensuous  is  a  symbol  or 
veliicle — there  has  never  been  a  strict  distinction  be- 
tween them — of  the  Divine.  T)ie  effects  of  the  mys- 
teries were  celebrated  in  the  highest  terms  as  union 
with  the  Deity;  but  since  they  cannot  restore  lost 
commuiiiou  with  God  (only  Christ  and  freedom  are 
able  to  do  tiiat) ,  strict  dogmatics  was  able  to  say  very 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     'M)'J 


(P' 


•< 


11! 


little  about  thcni.  The  true  effect  is  purely  one  of 
feeling,  i.e.  is  experienced  in  the  fantasy:  Men 
saw,  heard,  smelt,  and  felt  the  celestial,  but  a  dis- 
turbed conscience  they  could  not  comfort  with  the 
mysteries,  nor  did  one  hardly  try  to  do  so. 

On  this  basis,  since  the  coarse  instinct  of  the 
masses  pressed  forward,  mysteriosoj^hy  was  devel- 
oped. Its  roots  are  as  old  as  the  gentile  niiurch  and 
two  converging  developments  may  be  discerned,  the 
Antiochian  and  the  Alexandrian.  The  first  (Ignatius, 
the  Apostolic  Constitutions,  Chrysostom)  attaches 
itself  to  the  cult  and  priests,  tlie  second  to  the  true 
gnostic,  i.e.  to  the  monk.  The  first  sees  in  Divine 
worship  and  in  the  priest  (bishop)  the  true  bequest 
of  the  God-incarnate  life  of  Christ  raid  binds  the 
layman,  viewed  as  entirely  passive,  to  thecultus  hier- 
archical system,  by  which  one  becomes  consecrated 
to  immortality;  the  second  desires  to  form  indepen- 
dent virtuosos  of  religion.  The  Alexandrian  myste- 
riosophy  is  heterodox,  but  it  did  not  neglect  a  single 
phase  of  the  positive  religion,  rather  did  it  make 
use  of  them  all  by  the  side  of  the  graduated  ad- 
vancing knowledge  (sacrifice,  blood,  reconciliation, 
atonement,  purification,  perfection,  means  of  salva- 
tion, mediator  of  salvation) ;  true,  viewing  them  all 
as  transition  stages,  in  order  to  gain  through  specu- 
lation and  asceticism  a  standpoint  from  which  each 
vehicle  and  sacrament,  everything  holy  which  ap- 
pears under  a  sensuous  cover,  becomes  profane,  be- 
cause the  soul  now  lives  in  the  most  holy  and  be- 


MysttTi- 

osojihy : 

Aiil<- 

oohidii 

ai!«l  Alt'X- 

uiulriau. 


I) 


.  " ) 


II  < I 


!'l 


D'onysius 

AreopaK- 
ita. 


Mystery  of 

the 
Eucluirist. 


'MO       OUTLINES   OK   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

cause  in  each  man  a  Christ  should  be  born ;  -ra/woffrj^ 

The  two  mystericsophies,  the  hierarchical  and  the 
gnostic,  convcxge  in  the  mysticism  of  the  great  un- 
known Dionysius  Areopagita  (preliminary  stages 
are  represented  by  Methodius,  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 
Macarius),  who,  on  the  one  side,  viewed  the  cidt  and 
priesthood  as  an  earthly  parallel  to  the  heavenly 
hierarchy  (to  the  graded  world  of  spirits  as  the  un- 
folding of  the  Deity),  on  the  other,  adopted  the  in- 
dividualism of  the  Neo-Platonic  mysticism.  Through 
Maximus  Confessor  this  combination  became  the 
power  which  ruled  the  Church,  tried  to  monarchize 
it,  and  inoculated  it  with  the  monkish  resistance  to 
the  state — the  only  form  in  which  the  Greek  Church 
»7as  or  is  able  to  assert  its  independence. 

The  peculiar  character  of  mysteriosophy,  as  a 
speculation  regarding  the  making  of  the  Divine  per- 
ceptible to  the  senses  and  the  making  of  the  sensuous 
Divine,  could  in  no  mysteiy  be  more  strongly  ex- 
pressed than  in  the  eiichavi  4  (Steitz,  Abendmahls- 
lehre  d.  griech  Kirche,  i.  d.  Jahrb.  f.  deutsche 
Theol.y  Bd.  IX-XIIL).  Tliis,  long  since  recognized 
as  the  ground  upon  which  the  sublimest  spiritualism 
can  extend  its  hand  to  the  most  massive  sensualism, 
became  so  develooed,  that  by  it  the  Christological 
formula,  the  fundamental  dogma,  appeared  alive  and 
comprehensible.  Without  giving  to  the  speculation 
on  the  Lord's  Supper  a  strictly  instructional  cast, 
the  same  was  so  treated  in  general,  especially  after 


LI 


'^S^M. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   DOCTRINE   OF    INCARNATION.     'MX 

Cyril  of  Ab  xandria,  tljat  it  was  considered  as  tlio 
mystery  which  rests  directly  upon  the  incarnation 
and  perpetuates  the  mystery  of  the  ''/i<'>^.'s\  All  other 
mysteries,  in  so  far  as  they  also  contain  the  blending 
into  one  of  the  heavenly  angl  ^prthly,  exist  in  reality 
only  by  reason  of  the  Lord's  •oi)per.  Here  only  is 
given  an  express  transmiitatio)i  of  the  sensuous  into 
the  divine  body  of  Christ;  for  this  conception  gained 
more  and  Uxore  ground,  abolished  symbolism  and 
finally  carried  its  point  altogether.  The  transub- 
stantiation  of  the  consecrated  bread  into  the  body  of 
Christ  is  the  continuation  of  the  process  of  the  in- 
carnation. Thereby  pure  monophijsitic  formulas 
were  used  in  relation  to  the  Lord's  Supper — highly 
characteristic — and  gradually  the  conception  even 
made  its  way,  that  the  body  into  which  the  bread 
is  transformed  is  per  assiimptionem  the  very 
body  of  Christ,  borne  by  the  virgin,  of  which  for- 
merly hard>y  any  one  had  thought  since  the  older 
theologians  also  understood  under  t"/'!  Xinnmo  some- 
thing "  pneumatic".  But  as  the  Lord's  Supper  as  a 
sacrament  was  united  in  the  closest  manner  with  the 
dogma  of  the  incarnation  and  the  Christological  for- 
mula (hence  the  sensitiveness  of  this  formula),  so  was 
it  likewise  connected  as  a  sacrifice  with  the  death  on 
the  cross  (repetition  of  the  sacrifice  on  the  cross ;  hoAv-  ^f''^j|I.'^(!;^i" 
ever,  the  conception  has  not  been  so  definitely  ex-  tiVJ'ci "" 
pressed  in  the  Greek  Church  as  in  the  Occident) . 
Accordingly  it  re-enacted  the  most  important  histor- 
ical events,  not  as  a  remembrance,  but  as  a  continu- 


^$ 


Trnn- 

substunti- 

atiou. 

1 

,11  ' 

I 
1 

1 

1    ■: 

t     , 

'    } 

08S. 


»■. 


I : 

1  '• 


M 


KMffl 


li     ;  i 


Image- 
Worsnip, 
Supersti- 
tion, Poly- 
theism. 


:U2       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF    DOGMA. 

atiou,  i.e.  ;i  repetition,  whercb}'^  those  facts  were 
deprived  of  their  meaning  and  significance.  At  the 
same  time  the  immoral  and  irreligious  thirst  after 
"  realities  "  changed  the  sacred  act  into  a  repast,  in 
which  one  bit  the  Deity  to  pieces  with  the  teeth 
(thus  already  Chrysostom;  completion  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Lord's  Sui)per  by  John  of  Damascus). 

2.  The  whole  development  of  Greek  Christianity 
into  image-worship,  superstition  and  poorl}^  veiled 
polytheism  may,  however,  also  be  conceived  as  the 
victory  of  a  religion  of  the  second  order,  which  is 
always  prevalent  in  the  Church,  over  the  spiritual 
religion.  The  former  became  legitimized  and  was 
fused  with  the  doctrina  xmhlica^  although  theolo- 
gians enjoined  certain  precautions.  As  the  pagan 
temples  wer^  reconsecrated  and  made  into  Christian 
churches,  so  was  the  old  paganism  preserved  as 
angel-,  saint-,  image-  and  amulet-worship.  The  re- 
ligion whose  strength  had  once  been  the  abomination 
of  idols,  finally  surrendered  to  idols  and  became  in  a 
certain  measure  morally  obtuse.  True,  the  connect- 
ing links  are  found  in  the  doctrina  puhlica  itself;  for. 
Religion  of  (J)  This  was  constructcd  out  of  tho  material  of  the 
order.  Qj-gek  pliilosophy ;  but  this  philosophy  was  inter- 
twined by  a  thousand  threads  with  the  mythology 
and  superstition,  (2)  It  sanctioned  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, though  originally  prescribing  a  spiritual  inter- 
pretation of  it ;  but  the  letter  of  the  Old  Testament, 
which  in  fact  expressed  a  subordinate  religious  stage 
of  development,   became  more  and   more  powerful 


JJ3lTJC^Hi^.W!«"A'iW^-l-'.WAVf»' '.''■-'       "jp^ 


KStBH^   :.'■■:■ 


illl 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION.     31 IJ 

and  iiuido  advauces  to  tlio  inferior  tendencies  of  the 
Church,  which  it  then  appeared  to  legitimize,  (i5) 
The  acts  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  conceived 
as  mysteries,  opened  in  general  the  doors  and  win- 
dows to  the  inroad  of  the  mystery-nuisance,  (-4) 
The  faitli  in  angels  and  demons,  handed  down  from 
antiquity  and  protected  by  the  d()vtvi)ia  pnhlica^ 
grew  more  and  more  powerful,  was  fostered  in  a 
crude  form  by  the  monks,  in  a  spiritual  form  by  the 
Neo-Platonic  theologians,  and  threatened  more  and 
more  to  become  the  true  sphere  of  piety,  behind 
which  the  inconceivable  God  and  the  (in  consequence 
of  the  Church  doctrine)  just  as  inconceivable  Christ 
was  hidden  in  the  darkness,  (5)  The  old  idea   that  Worship  of 

^   '  Saints. 

there  are  "  saints  "  (apostles,  prophets,  ecclesiastical 
teachers,  martyrs)  htid  already  very  early  been  cul- 
tivated in  such  a  manner  that  these  saints  interceded 
and  made  atonement  for  men  and  took  now  more 
and  more  the  place  of  the  dethroned  gods,  joining 
themselves  to  the  angel-hosts.     Among  them  Mary    or  virgin 

Mary, 

stepped  into  the  fore-ground  and  she— she  alone — has 
been  specially  benefited  by  the  trend  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  dogma.  A  woman,  a  mother  now  ap- 
peared near  the  Deity,  and  thereby  at  last  was  offered 
the  possibility  of  bringing  to  recognition  the  thing 
after  all  most  foreign  to  original  Christianity — the 
Holy,  the  Divine  in  female  form — Mary  became  the 
mother  of  God,  the  one  who  bore  God*,  (0)   From  the    ^^  R«Hcs. 

♦  (."oiict'rninK  angel-worship,  in  so  far  as  the  angels  serve  as  mediutoi's 
of  the  benefits  of  salvation,  see  the  Areopagite;  concerning  the  spread  of 
augel-worship  (especially  of  the  idea  of  guardian  angels)  as  early  as  the 


II  : 


M  / 


!  n 


■<  y 


r 

r 

-( 
it 


>'m 


I' '  *> 


Belief  in 

Mirai'les. 

(Jonsultinx 

of  Onioles, 

etc-. 


314        OUTLINES    OF    TFIE    HTSTORY    OF    DOGMA. 

earliest  times,  deatli  had  been  saored  ^o  Christians  as 
the  birth-hour  of  true  life;  accordingly  everything 
which  had  any  connection  with  the  death  of  Chris- 
tian heroes  obtained  a  real  sanctity.  The  antic^uo 
idol  and  amulet  business  made  itself  at  home,  but  as 
relic-  and  bone-worship  in  the  most  disgusting  form ; 
in  the  contrast  between  the  insignificanc,  fright- 
ful form  and  its  religious  worth  Christians  made 
plain  to  themselves  the  loftiness  of  their  faith,  and 
the  more  unsesthetic  a  relic  appeared,  the  higher 
must  be  its  worth  to  those  who  recognized  in  the  dis- 
embodiment and  obliteration  of  all  sensuous  charms, 
the  guarantee  of  its  holiness,  (I)  Finally  the  Church 
opened  its  doors  to  that  boundless  desire  to  live  in 
a  world  of  miracles,  to  enjoj"  the  holy  with  the  five 


in 


h^'i- 


<  . 


;    1 


4th  century,  Roe  Didynms,  de  triiu't.  U. ,  T.—  Tlio  worship  of  saints 
(churches  consecrated  to  a  certain  saint)  was  already  by  about  the  year 
800  higlily  developed ;  but  in  the  4lh  centin-y  counter  efforts  were  not 
wanting  (also  not  concerning  angel-worship;  see  the  synod  of  Liiodicea). 
Tile  (J  \llic  pi'iest  Vigilantius  especially  fought  against  it,  as  also  against 
the  worship  of  relics.  But  the  most  eminent  teachers  (Jerome)  declared 
against  Vigilantius  and  worked  out  a  "tlieology  of  saints",  I'esi'rving  to  God 
the  Aarpeia,  but  conceding  to  the  saints  n^ij  trxeTCK/j  (npo(TKvyr]<TL<:').  The  relic 
business,  already  in  bloom  in  the  Ith  centurj',  rose  however  only  in  the 
nionophysitic  age  to  its  full  heiglit.  Finally  each  church  had  to  have  its 
relics,  and  the  7th  canon  of  tiie  Tth  coinicil  confirmed  and  solenmly  sanc- 
tioned the  ecclesiastical  use  of  relics.  But  the  jjrineipal  part  in  this  reli- 
gion of  the  second  order  was  played  by  Mary.  She  alone  became  a  ihxj- 
mutical  magnitude,  cteoToxo?,  a  watch-word  like  6ixoov(tlo<;:  "The  name  of  the 
bearer  of  God  rtpresents  the  whole  mystery  of  the  incarnation"  (.John  of 
Damascus  in  liis  homilies  on  Mary).  Gen.  3:  3  was  referred  to  her  and  au 
active  participatioii  of  3Iary  in  the  work  of  redemption  was  taught  (espe- 
cially following  Cyril  of  Alexandria;  yet,  see  already  Ireneeus  and  Atha- 
nasius,  /  .■  brose,  JeronuO.  Mary  obtained  a  sacred  history  from  conception 
to  ascension,  a  di:plicate  of  the  history  of  Christ  (legends  and  feasts  of 
Mary) ;  she  was  considered  an  indispensable  mediator.  Still  with  the 
Greeks  she  did  not  become  "queen  of  heaven  "  and  "mother  of  sorrows" 
as  with  the  Latins  (Benrath,  Z.  Gesch.  der  Marienverehrung  i.  d.  Stud. 
u.  Krit.  1880;  Gass,  Synd)olik   der  griech.  Kirche,  S.  183). 


DKN'KI.OIVMKNT    OF    DOCTfMNK   or    INC AKN'ATION.     HIT) 


as 


ud. 


senses,  to  recoivo  miraculoiis  hints  from  llio  Deitv. 
Even  the  most  cultured  Church  fathers  of  later  times 
did  not  know  how  any  longer  to  discern  between  the 
real  and  unreal ;  they  lived  in  a  world  of  magic  and 
loosed  complet<'ly  the  tie  between  religion  and  moral- 
ity (aside  from  asceticism),  joining  the  latter  therebj- 
the  more  closel}'  with  the  sensuous.  The  ceremonies 
out  of  the  gray  i)ast  (jf  religion,  little  modified,  came 
to  the  surface  again:  Consulting  of  oracles  of  all 
kinds,  judgments  of  Clod,  prodigies,  etc.  The  syn- 
ods, originally  hostile  to  these  practices,  finally  con- 
sented to  them. 

The  newl}"  gained  peculiarity  of  the  Greek  Church 
found  its  plainest  ex})ression  in  iuKUjc-woraliip  and 
the  imagp-couf rover.stj .  After  image-worship  had 
slowly  crept  into  the  Church,  it  received  a  mighty 
invigoration  and  confirmation,  unheard  of  in  anti- 
quity, by  the  dogma  of  the  incarnation  and  the  cor- 
responding treatment  of  the  eucharist  (since  the  otli 
centur}').  Christ  is  -^'./.(u-^  of  God,  and  yet  a  living- 
being,  yes,  r>r'V/^/  'loiii-ii'j'r,'^  Christ  has  rendered, 
through  the  incarnation,  the  Divine  apprehensible  to 
the  senses;  the  consecrated  elc^ments  are  el/.tr^z^  of 
Christ,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  the  bod}^  of  Christ 
itself.  These  ideas  called  up  a  new  world  for  con- 
templation. Everj'thing  sensuous,  which  pertained 
to  the  Church,  became  not  onl}-  a  symbol,  but  also  a 
vehicle  of  holy  things ;  thus  felt  the  monks  and  lay- 
men and  thus  taught  the  theologians.  But  among 
sensuous  things  the  image  shows  plainest  the  union 


Woishii)  in 
Churi'li. 


t 


I      i 


U  I 


n 


i 


t  H 


I 


A 


\\ 


^'\ 


Monasti- 
cism. 


Image- 
Con- 
troversy. 


:]\(\        OI^TTJNES   OF  TTIK    TITSTOHY   OF   DOrJMA. 

of  tlu3  lioly  with  the  material.  Images  of  Christ, 
of  Mary  and  of  saints  were  ah'eady  in  the  5tli  (4th) 
eentury  worshipped  after  tlie  antique  fashion;  men 
were  naive  enough  to  fancy  themselves  now  secure 
from  paganism,  and  they  transferred  their  dogmatic- 
al representation  from  the  deified  matter  in  an  esix'- 
cial  manner  to  the  images,  in  which — the  Aristo 
telian  scholastics  also  was  called  in  to  aid — they  were 
able  to  see  the  veritable  marriage  of  earthly  matter 
and  the  heavenly  (holy)  form  (besides,  the  supersti 
tious  belief  in  images  not  painted  by  hand).  Monas- 
ticism  fostered  image- worship  jmd  traded  with  it ; 
scholastics  and  mj^stics  gave  it  dogmatic  form. 

But  monasticism  also  advanced  the  struggle  of  the 
Church  toward  independence,  in  contrast  with  Jus- 
tinian's state  constitution  which  fettered  the  Church. 
In  the  7th  century  the  ecclesiastico-monkish  resist- 
ance to  Byzantium  retreated  behind  dyotheletism, 
just  as  in  the  r)th  and  Gth  centuries  it  had  fled 
behind  monophysitism ;  it  grew  more  and  more 
powerful  and  sought  to  gain  ecclesiastical  freedom, 
which  the  Occident  already  partly  enjoyed.  Pow^er- 
ful  but  barbarous  emperors  endeavored  to  put  an  end 
to  this  effort  by  substituting  the  army  for  priests 
and  monks,  and  to  break  the  independence  of  the 
Church  by  striking  at  its  peculiarity — the  image- 
irorship.  Thus  originated  the  frightful  image-con- 
troversy, which  lasted  more  than  a  century.  In  it 
the  emperors  fought  for  the  absolutism  of  the  state, 
and  had  as  an  ally  only  a  single  power,  the  military; 


r ! 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DOC'TlilNE   OF   IN'CAKNATION.     317 


for  tho  remaining  nllies,  namely,  religious  cnJight- 
ennieiit  and  the  primitive  tradition  of  the  Church, 
which  spoke  against  the  images,  were  powerless. 
Tho  monks  and  bishops  had  on  their  side  the  culture, 
art  and  science  of  that  time  (John  Damsc,  Thco- 
dorus  Studita),  the  Roman  bishop  and,  furthermore, 
piety  and  living  tradition;  they  fought  for  the  cen- 
tral dogma,  which  they  saw  exemplified  in  the  image- 
worship,  and  for  the  freedom  of  the  Church.  The 
latter  they  could  not  obtain.  The  outcome,  rather, 
was  that  the  Church  retained  its  peculiarity',  but 
definitely  lost  its  independence  with  reference  to  the 
state.     The  Itli  council  at  Nicaea  (787)  sanctioned 

image- worship  {ii(y~an;i.!'>v  xa\  Ti/iriztxi^v  TTfntfTxn'^r/tTt'^  aTo- 
\^itici.>^  <)>) /xr^v  TT^y  xard  Tziariv  ijiiwv  d/.rj>'hvrjV  Xarpeiav^  rj  Tzpiret 
fjidvrj  t9j    f^zia   (pnffzi    .    .    .    "fj  T7J<i  etxoyo'i  rt/iij    It:),   to    Trputrd- 


ror.ov  fh'xfiaivzi).  Its  logical  development  in  its  princi- 
pal points  was  obviously  concluded.  The  Divine  and 
Holy,  as  it  descended  through  the  incarnation  into 
the  sensuous,  created  for  itself  in  the  Church  a  sys- 
tem of  sensuous-supersensuous  objects,  which  offer 
themselves  for  man's  gratification.  The  image-the- 
osophy  corresponds  to  the  Neo-Platonic  idea  (joined 
with  the  incarnation-idea)  of  the  One,  unfolding  him- 
self in  a  multiplicity  of  graduated  ideas  (prototypes) , 
reaching  down  even  to  the  earthly.  To  Theodorus 
Studita  the  image  was  almost  more  important  than 
the  correct  dogmatic  watch- word;  for  in  the  authen- 
tic image  one  has  the  real  Christ  and  the  real  holy 
thing — only  the  material  is  different. 


»< 
> 


i. 


i.:^  " 


:(l 


11 


|!   ; ' 


i     -l:'] 


n 


('lii'islian 


Clnirch  not 
Content 

with 
System. 


318     outlinf:s  of  the  history  of  dogma. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

CONCLUSION. — SKETCH     OF     TIIP:     HISTORIC     BECJIN- 
NIN(iS   OF   THE   ORTHODOX   SYSTEM. 

1.  A  Christian  system  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  four  principles:  Clod,  world,  freedom  and  Holy 
Scriptures,  tending  toward  the  doctrina  publica, 
and  making  use  of  the  t(jtal  yield  of  the  r.)j.r,'Uti 
Tzainsia^  Ovv^vw  bequeathed;  yet  it  was  in  many  de- 
tails heterodox  and  fis  a  science  of  the  faith  it  was 
intended  to  outbid  faith  itself.  ^Moreover  the  idea  of 
the  historical  redemption  through  the  true  God,  Jesus 
Christ,  was  not  the  all-controlling  one. 

"I.  The  Church  could  not  rest  satislicd  with  the 
system.  It  demanded,  ( I)  The  identity  of  the  expres- 
sions of  faith  with  the  science  of  faith  (especially 
since  Methodius),  (•*)  Such  a  restriction  oi  the  use  of 
the  ' l-y/^^ur,  zac'hia  that  the  realistic  sentences  of  the 
regula  fide i  and  of  the  Bible  should  remain  intact 
(the  opponents  of  Origen :  Epiphanius,  Apollinaris, 
the  monks,  Theophilus,  Jerome),  (;>)  The  introduction 
of  the  idea  of  the  real  and  historical  redemption 
through  the  God-man  as  the  central  idea  (Athanasius 
and  his  followers) .  These  demands,  thoroughly  car- 
ried out,  broke  down  the  system  of  Origen,  which  at 
the  bottom  was  a  philosophical  system.  But  break 
it  down,  no  one  of  the  euUiuod  Christians  at  lirst 
either  would  or  could ;  for  they  estimated  it  as  the 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   DO(THi:^E   OF   TNVARNATION.     310 


science  frum  which  on(»  daro  not  depart  and  which 
the  Christian  faith  needed  for  its  defence. 

;3.  In  conso(iuenco  thereof,  indistinctness  and  free- 
dom ruled  till  the  end  of  the  4th  century  in  the  Ori- 
ental Church,  into  which,  since  Constantine,  the  old 
world  had  gained  an  entrance.  To  he  sure,  through 
Arius  and  Athanasius  the  idea  of  redemption  had 
become  a  critical  lu'oblem,  and  later  it  obtained 
recognition  essentially  in  the  conception  \vhich  the 
Christian  faith  at  that  time  demanded;  but  everv- 
thing  on  the  periphery  was  entirely  insecure:  A 
wholly  spiritualistic  philosophical  interpretation  of 
the  Bible  stood  side  by  side  with  a  coarse  realistic 
one,  a  massive  anthropomorphism  by  the  side  of  a 
Christian-tinted  Neo-PIatonism,  the  modified  rule  of 
faith  by  the  side  of  its  letter.  Between  were  innum- 
erable shades ;  steersman  and  rudder  were  wanting, 
and  the  religion  of  the  second  order,  thinly  veiled 
paganism,  forced  itself  b}'  its  own  power,  not  only 
into  the  Church,  but  also  into  the  Church  doctrine. 
Right  well  did  the  Cappadocians  (Gregory  of  Nyssa) 
maintain  the  scioni  -o  of  Origen  in  the  midst  of  at- 
tacks right  and  left,  and  they  lived  in  the  conviction 
that  it  was  possible  to  reconcile  ecclesiastical  faith 
with  free  science.  Ecclesiastically  inclined  laymen 
like  Socrates  acknowledged  tliem  to  be  in  the  right, 
and  at  the  same  time  Greek  theohjgy  penetrated  into 
the  Occident  and  became  there  an  important  leaven. 
But  by  the  side  of  it  there  grew  u}),  especially  after 
the  fall  of  Arianism,  in  close  alliance  with  barbar- 


Imliatiiu't- 

iifss  iind 

FrtM'iloin 

till   too. 


1; 


«        i 


H     I 


t; 


[I ;  t 


I''.' 


Contt^Ht 

AKiiinst 

Bystom. 


321)        Ol  TLINKS   OF   THK    HISTORY    OK    DOCiMA. 

ism  a  inoiikisli  and  communal  orthodoxy,  which  was 
very  hostile  to  the  independent  ecclesiastical  science, 
and  the  latter  surely  neglected  no  means  of  warding 
off  the  heterodox  Hellenism.  Were  there  not  even 
bishops  (Synesius),  who  either  gave  a  different  in- 
terpretation to  the  principal  dogmas,  or  denied  them? 
4.  Under  such  circumstances  the  situation  nar- 
rowed down  to  a  contest  against  Origon.  His  name 
signified  a  principle,  the  well-known  use  of  the 
'f^Xr^vcxTj  rat'hia  in  ecclesiastical  science.  In  Palestine 
it  was  the  passionate,  learned  and  narrow  Epipha- 
nius,  who  disturbed  the  circles  of  the  monkish  ad- 
mirers of  Origen,  together  with  bishop  John  of 
Jerusalem.  In  Egypt  the  bishop  Theophilus  found 
himself  obliged,  in  order  to  retain  his  influence,  to 
surrender  Origen  to  the  monks  and  to  condemn  him. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  consecjuential  facts  in  the 
history  of  theology.  Of  not  less  conseciuence  was  it, 
that  the  greatest  theologian  of  the  Occident  (Jerome), 
living  in  the  Orient,  once  an  admirer  of  Origon, 
made  common  cause  with  Theophilus,  in  order  to 
preserve  his  own  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  stamj^ed 
Origen  as  a  heretic.  In  the  controversy  into  which 
he  on  that  account  fell  with  his  old  friend  Rufinus, 
the  Roman  bishop  took  a  part.  Origen  was  also  con- 
demned in  Rome  (3U9)  and  Rufinus  was  censured. 
However,  it  did  not  come  as  yet  to  general  ecclesias- 
tical action  against  Origen.  The  controversy  was 
lost  sight  of  in  the  contest  of  Theophilus  against 
Chry  SOS  torn.     Even  in  the  5tli  and  6th  century  Ori- 


DKVKI.Ol'MKNT   oK    DOCTKINK   oV    INCAUNATIOS,     321 


gen  liad  nmnoroUH  lulmirors  amoiij^^  tlu'  monks  and 
laymen  in  the  Orient,  and  liis  lictcrodoxios  wore 
partly  hushed  up  l)y  them,  partly  approved. 


The  great  controversy  ahout  tlu'  (Miristolo^ieal   'S'n'^^" 

trnvt'fmii'iJ 
ill  tlu'  .Mil 
O'litury. 


dogma  in  the  .jth  century  next  silenced  all  other  con-    in'ui.'Mi'i 


tests.  But  the  dill'erenco  hetween  the  Alexandrians 
and  the  Antiochians  was  also  a  general  scientific  one. 
The  former  took  their  position  upon  tradition  and 
8i)ccuhition  (concerning  the  ri'alistically  conceived 
idea  of  redemi)tit)n),  counting  still  on  some  adherents 
on  the  left  wing  who  inclined  toward  the  ( )rigen- 
istic  Nco-Platonic  philosophy  and  who  were  tolerated 
if  thoy  hid  their  heterodoxies  Ix^hind  th<'  mysticism 
of  the  cnlt ;  the  latter  wore  soher  exegetes  with  a 
critical  tendency,  favoring  the  philosophy  of  Aris- 
totle, but  rejecting  the  spiritualizing  method  of  Ori- 
gen.  The  heterodox  element  in  the  Alexandrians, 
in  so  far  as  they  had  not  fully  thrown  themselves  into 
the  arms  of  traditionalism,  pointed  still  in  the  direc- 
tion of  pantheism  (re-interpretation  of  the  rcfjnla) ; 
in  the  Antiochians  it  lay  in  the  conception  of  the 
central  dogmas.  Forced  to  stand  on  guard  against 
the  old  heresies  which  had  wholly  withdrawn 
to  the  East,  the  Antiochians  remained  the  "anti- 
gnostic  "  theologians  and  boasted  that  they  carried 
on  the  battles  of  the  Lord.  The  last  of  them,  Thco- 
doret,  appended  to  his  compendium  of  heretical  fables 
a  5th  Book:  " ''^£.''wv  l^oyftdztuj  ircTnurj^^  which  must  bo 
recognized  as  the  first  systcmjitic  effort  after  Origen, 

and  which  apparently  had  great  influence  upon  John 
31 


Thfo- 

(liir'ffs 

C<'iii|"'" 
diuiii. 


•  i 


,!l 


4 


V    ' 


m 


9> 


•  ,  I 


la 


Mystcri- 

<)S()i)hy  ;in(i 

Scholfisti- 

cisiii. 


322       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

of  Damascus.  The  "epitome"  is  of  great  iiiipoi- 
tance.  It  unites  the  trinitariaii  and  Christological 
dogmas  with  the  whole  circle  of  dogmas  depending 
upon  the  creed.  It  shows  an  attitude  as  obviously 
Bii>lical,  as  it  is  ecclesiastical  and  reasonable.  It 
keeps  everywhere  to  the  "golden  mean".  It  is  al- 
most complete  and  also  pays  especial  regard  once  more 
to  the  realistic  escliatology.  It  admitted  none  of  the 
offensive  doctrines  of  Origen,  and  yet  Origen  was 
not  treated  as  a  heretic.  A  system  this  epitome  is 
not,  but  the  uniform  soberness  and  clearness  in  the 
treatment  of  details  rnd  the  careful  Biblical  proofs 
give  to  the  whole  a  unicpie  stamp.  It  could  not  of 
course  satisfy;  in  the  first  place,  on  account  of  the 
person  of  its  author,  and  then  l^ecause  everythiig 
mystical  and  Neo-Platonic  is  wanting  in  its  doctrinal 
content. 

(j.  After  the  Chalcedon  creed  all  science  came  to 
a  stand-still  in  the  orthodox  Church :  There  were  no 
loiiger  ''  Antiocliians",  or  "  Alexandrians  " ;  free  iheo- 
logical  work  died  out  almost  completely.  However, 
tiie  century  preceding  the  5tli  council  shows  two 
remarkable  appearances.  First,  a  mysteriosophy 
gained  mere  and  more  ground  in  the  Church,  which 
did  not  work  at  dogmas  but  stood  with  one  foot  upon 
the  ground  of  the  religion  of  the  second  order  (super- 
stition, cult),  with  the  other  upon  Neo-Platonisni 
(the  pseudo-Areopagite) ;  second,  a  schohtsticis})) 
grew  up,  which  ]»rcsu])p()sed  the  dogma  as  given  auJ 
appropriated  it  by  means  of  apprehensible  distinc- 


t 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   INCARNATION,     [i'lo 


ch 


Coll- 

li'iiiticd  by 

.-.til 
Coiiucil. 


tions  (Leoiitius  of  Byzantium),  in  the  spirit  of  both 
tendencies  Justinian  carried  ca  his  religious  politics. 
Re'ying  thereon  he  cl(\-ed  the  school  of  Athens, 
also  the  old  ecclesiastical  schools,  the  Origenistic  and 
Antiochian.  Tlie  5th  council  sanctioned  the  con- 
demnation of  Origen  (in  15  anathemas  his  heterodox 
sentences  were  rejected)  and  the  condemnation  of  the 
"  three  chapters".  Henceforth  there  was  no  longer  a 
theological  science  going  back  to  first  principles. 
There  existed  only  a  mysticism  of  cult  (truly,  with  a 
In.lden  heterodox  trend)  and  scholasticism,  both  in 
certain  waj^s  in  closest  connection  (Maximus  Con- 
fessor). Thereby  a  condition  was  reached  for  which 
the  "  conservatives  "  at  all  times  had  longed ;  but 
through  the  condemnation  of  Origen  and  the  Anti- 
ochians  one  was  now  defenceless  against  the  massive 
Biblicism  and  a  superstitious  realism,  and  that  was 
a  result  which  originally  men  had  not  desired.  In 
the  image-worship,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  fussy 
literal  translation  of  Gen.  1-3,  on  the  other,  is  re- 
vealed the  downfall  of  theological  science. 

7.  As  to  the  !i>'o'tr,<T'.<,  the  Capjuidocians  (in  addition  ("appa<iooi. 
to  Athanasius  and  Cyril)  above  all  were  considered  'MaxhUus' 
authoritative;  as  to  the  iiorrzayiDyia^  the  Areopagite  liruiciiry- 
and  Maximus;  as  to  (f.Xonuifia    Aristotle;   as  to  the    Auth..ri- 

'  '  '      •>  •>  ties. 

n/t'.Xiu^  Chryjiostom.  But  the  man  who  compreliended 
all  these,  who  transferred  the  scholastico-dialectic 
method,  which  Leontius  had  apj)lied  to  the  dogma 
of  the  incarnatio'.i,  to  the  wliole  compass  of  "the  di- 
vine dogmas "  as  Tlieodoret  had  established  them, 


11'    ' 


II 


i, 


'':( 

'}■; 


[' 


i    1 


'-''f  '4 


m 


n  ■  '■■r 


m 


.;• 


John  of 
Dainiiscus 
aii<l  <ti-(M'k 
OrtlHxlox 

yysU'ui. 


324       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

Avas  John  of  Damascus.  Through  him  the  Greek 
Church  gained  its  orthodox  system,  but  not  the  Greek 
Church  alone.  The  work  of  John  was  none  the  less 
important  for  the  Occident.  It  became  the  founda- 
tion of  medifcval  theology.  John  was  above  all  a 
scholastic.  Each  difficulty  was  to  him  only  a  chal- 
lenge to  artfully  split  the  conceptions  and  to  find  a 
new  conception  to  which  nothing  in  the  world  corre- 
sponds, except  just  that  difficulty  which  i^  to  be 
removed  by  the  new  conception.  The  fundamental 
question  also  of  the  science  of  the  Middle  Ages  was 
already  propounded  by  him :  The  question  of  nomi- 
alism  and  realism ;  ho  solved  it  by  a  modified  Aris- 
totelianism.  All  doctrines  had  already  been  provided 
for  him;  he  finds  them  in  the  decrees  of  councils 
and  the  works  of  the  acknowledged  fathers.  He 
considered  it  the  duty  of  science  to  work  them  over. 
Thereby  the  two  principal  dogmas  were  placed  within 
the  circle  of  the  teachings  of  the  old  anti-gnostically 
interpreted  symbol.  Of  the  allegorical  explanation 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  a  very  modest  use  is  made. 
The  letter  of  Scripture  dominates  on  the  whole,  at 
any  rate  much  more  decidedly  than  with  the  Cappa- 
docians.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  natural  theol- 
ogy is  also  closely  concealed ;  highly  realistic  Scrip- 
ture narrations,  which  are  piously  received,  twine 
themselves  around  it.  But  what  is  most  perplexing 
— the  strict  connection  which  in  Athanasius,  Apol- 
linaris  and  Cyril  unites  the  trinity  and  the  incarna- 
tion, in  general,  the  dogma  which  is  associated  with 


U      J! 


■  .-.f/^fhU'iTM'- -■■'^^#i 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DOCTRINE    OK    INCAKNATION.     ;V^5 

the  lM?nefit  of  salvation,  is  entirely  (liss(jlv(Hl.  John 
has  innumerable  dogmas,  which  must  he  believed; 
but  they  stand  no  longer  ckvir,  under  a  consistent 
scheme.  The  end  to  which  the  dogma  once  contrib- 
uted as  a  means  still  remained,  but  the  means  are 
chcinged;  it  is  the  cult,  the  mysteries,  into  which  the 
4th  book  also  overflows.  Conseciuently  the  system 
lacks  an  inward,  vital  unity.  In  reality  it  is  not  an 
explanation  of  faith,  but  an  explanation  of  its  pre- 
suj)positions,  and  it  has  its  unity  in  the  form  of  treat- 
ment, in  the  high  cuifiipiity  of  the  doctrines  and  in 
the  HoJfi  Script ures.  The  dogmas  have  become  the 
sacred  legacy  of  the  classical  antiquity  of  the  Church ; 
but  they  have  sunk,  so  to  speak,  into  the  ground. 
Image-irorship^  vrijsficism  and  scJiuhisticisni  dom- 
inate the  Church. 


Jolin  Re- 

tpiiivs 
Faith  in  hi- 
Fiiiiner.ihle 


1 1 


4  I 


a- 


:;i  ' 


BOOK  II. 


EXPANSION  AND  RECASTING  OF  THE  DOGMA 
INTO  A  DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  SIN,  GRACE 
AND  THE  MEANS  OF  GRACE  UPON  THE  BASIS 
OF  THE  CHURCH. 


I  '  i 


'  ii 


M 


CHAPTER  L 


HISTORICAL   SURVEY 


Baur,  Vorl.  ub.  d.  christl.  DG..  2.  Bd.,  1800.  Bacli,  Die 
DG.  des  MA.,  2  Bdc,  18753  scq.  Scinvane,  I)(^.  der  iiiiUl. 
Zeit,  1882.  Thomasius-Seeborj--.  Die  cliristl.  !)(}.,  2.  Bd.,  1. 
Abtli.,   1888. 


Basal  Eie-    r  M  HE  liistoiy  of  dogiiiJi  in  the  Occident  durin 

nionts  oi'  I 

History  of    J_      tlio  tlioiisfind  vcars  between  the  migration  of 

DoKiuii  111  "^  ^ 

olc  "eiit.  ^j^^  nations  and  the  Reformation  was  evolved  from 
the  following  elements :  (1)  From  the  distinctive  pecu- 
liarit}'  of  Occidental  Christianity  as  represented  by 
TertuUian,  C^'prian,  Lactantiiis,  etc.,  ('2)  From  the 
Hellenic  theology  introduced  by  the  theologians  of 
the  -itli  century,  ('>)  From  Augustinianism,  i.e.  from 
the  Christianity  of  Augustine,  (4) — in  a  secondary 
degree — From  the  new  needs  of  the  Romano-Ger- 
manic nations.  The  Roman  bishop  became  in  an 
increasing  measure  the  decisive  .authority.  The  his- 
tory of  dogma  in  the  Middle  Ages  is  the  history  of 

326 


DEVELOPMENT   OP   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      327 


M 


the  dogma  of  the  Roman  Church,  although  tlicology 
had  its  home,  not  in  Italy,  but  in  North  Africa 
and  France. 

2.  The  carrying  out  of  spiritual  monotheism,  the 
disclosure  of  individualism  and  the  delineation  of  tlie 
inward  process  of  the  Christian  life  (sin  and  grace) 
indicate  the  importance  of  Augustine  as  a  pui)il  of 
the  Neo-Platonists  and  of  Paul.  But  since  he  also 
championed  the  old  dogma  and  at  the  same  time 
brought  forward  new  problems  and  aims  for  the 
Church  as  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth,  his 
rich  mind  bore  within  itself  all  the  tensions  whose 
living  strength  determined  the  history  of  dogma  in 
the  Occident.  Even  the  system  of  morality  and  the 
sacramental  superstition,  which  later  almost  absorbed 
Augustinianism,  were  placed  by  Augustine  among 
the  first  principles  of  his  doctrine  of  religion.  As  a 
new  element,  Aristotelianism  was  added  during  the 
later  Middle  Ages,  and  this  strengthened  the  afore- 
said sj'stem  of  morjility,  but  on  the  other  hand  it 
beneficially  limited  the  Neo-Platonic  mysticism. 

3.  The  piety  of  Augustine  did  not  live  in  the  old 
dogma,  but  he  respected  it  as  authority  and  used  it 
as  building-material  for  his  doctrine  of  religion.  Ac- 
cordingly dogma  in  the  Occident  became,  on  the  one 
side.  Church  discipli)ie  and  law  and,  on  the  other, 
far-reaching  fransfonnaiions  within  theolog}/  it- 
self. The  consequence  was  that  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  in  spite  of  all  changes,  men  surrendered 
themselves  to  the  illusion  of  simply  persisting  in  the 


Aupis- 
tiije's 
Work. 


Ecclesias- 
tical Dis- 
cipline and 


11)11 


TheoloKy. 


w 


Pietism, 
Sacra- 
ments, Sci- 
entific 
Theology. 


Divisions 
in   History 

of  Dogma 
of  Sin.  etc. 


328 


OUTLINES   OF   THK    HISTOKV    OF    DOGMA. 


dogma  of  the  otli  contuiy,  becniiso  the  new  was  either 
not  recognized  as  such,  or  was  reduced  to  a  mere  ad- 
ministrative rule  in  the  indeed  still  controverted  au- 
thority of  the  Roman  bishop.  The  Reformation,  i.e. 
the  Tridentine  council,  first  put  an  end  to  this  state 
of  affairs.  Only  since  the  IGth  century,  therefore, 
can  the  history  of  dogma  in  the  ]Middle  Ages  be  sep- 
arated from  the  history  of  theologij,  and  described. 

4.  Especially  to  be  observed  are,  (1)  The  history  of 
pietism  (Augustine,  Bernard,  Francis,  so-called  re- 
formers before  the  Reformation)  in  its  significance 
for  the  recasting  of  dogma,  (2)  The  doctrine  of  the  sac- 
raments, (3)  Scientific  theology  (Augustine  and  Aris- 
totle, fides  et  ratio)  in  its  influence  upon  the  free  cul- 
tivation of  doctrine.  Back  of  these  developments 
there  lay  in  the  later  Middle  Ages  the  question  of  j^er- 
sonal  surety  of  faith  and  of  personal  Christian 
cliarac!ter,  which  was  repressed  by  the  active  power 
of  the  visible  Church.  The  latter  was  the  silent  co- 
efficient of  all  spiritual  and  theological  movements 
until  it  became  plainly  audible  in  the  contest  over 
the  right  of  the  pope. 

5.  Division:  (1)  Occidental  Christianit}'-  and  Oc- 
cidental Theology  before  Augustine,  (2)  Augustine, 
(3)  Provisional  Adjustment  of  Pra)-A';gustinian  and 
Augustinian  Christianity  until  Gregory  I.,  (4)  The 
Carolingian  Revival,  (5)  The  Clugnian-Bernardine 
Epoch,  (G)  Epoch  of  the  Mendicant  Orders,  of  Scho- 
lasticism and  of  the  Reformers  before  the  Reforma- 
tion. 


^ifTOpsN^/?»''?^»"'^<f^"f'r'f;''':5(r'; 


DEVELOl'.MENT   OF    DOCTRINE    OF   SIN,  ETC.       ^'^O 


CHAPTER  II. 

OCCIDENTAL   CHKISTL^  NITY  AND   OCCIDENTAL   THEO- 
LOCJIANS   HE^X)RE   AUGUSTINE. 

Noldechen,  Tertullian,  1890.  O.  Ritsclil,  Cyprian,  1885. 
Forster,  Ambrosius,  1884.  Reinkeus.  IliUirius,  18(11.  Zrickler, 
HieronymuH,  186.").  Volter,  Douatisnius,  1882.  Nitzscli, 
Boetliiiis,  1800. 

1.  Occidental  Christianity,  in  contradistinction  T'Ttuiiiau, 
to  Oriental,  was  determined  by  iico  pers()iiuliUi\^ —     'i'oIk's." 
Tertullian    tind  Augustine — and,  in  addition,  by  the 
policy,  conscious  of  its  aim  in  serving  and  ruling,  of 
the  Roman  Church  and  its  bishops. 

'Z.  The  Christianity  of  Tertullian  was  determined    C'liristian- 

''  ity  of 

through  contrast  by  the  old,  enthusiastic  and  strict  '^^'■^"""^°- 
faith  and  the  anti-gnostic  rule  of  faith.  In  accord- 
ance with  his  juristic  training  he  endeavored  to  secure 
everywhere  in  religion  legal  axioms  and  formulas, 
and  he  conceived  the  relationship  between  God  and 
man  as  that  of  civil  law.  Furthermore  his  theology 
bears  a  sijUogisfic-dialectical  stamp ;  it  does  not  phil- 
osophize, but  it  reasons,  alternating  between  argu- 
ments ex  aiicforifafe  and  e  raff-one.  On  the  other 
hand,  Tertullian  frequently  strongly  impresses  one 
by  his  psychological  obserrafion  and  indeed  by  an 
empirical  psijcliologtj.  Finall}-  his  writings  man- 
ifest aprocf/caZ,  et'«/ify^//c'rt/ attitude,  determined  by 
the  fear  of  God  as  the  Judge,  and  an  insistance  upon 
will  and  action,  which  the  speculative  Greeks  lacked. 


,  1    - 


I  1 


fJSi 


I.N:H> 


■  li'^i 


I '  'b- 


\  \  a 


\) 


•  m  I 


iff  1^ 


t  I 


,>»: 


(    ! 


I ,,-, 


Natiinvl- 
i/t'il  ill 

<  l« ciLU'Ilt 

riaii. 


:yM)       OUTLINES   OF   THE    IIISTOUV   OF  DOGMA. 

Ill  all  these  points  and  in  their  mixture  his  Chris- 
tianity became  typical  lor  the  Occident. 

',).  The  Christianity  of  Tertullian,  blunted  in  many 
resi)ects  and  nK)rally  shallow  (''  de  opere  et  eleemos- 
Ijnis  "},  yet  clerically  worked  out  (*'  de  unitate  eccle- 
s/«^"),  became  naturalized  in  the  Occident  through 
Cyprian,  the  great  authority  of  Latin  Christendom; 
side  by  side  with  it  that  Ciceronian  theology  v/itli 
apocalyptical  additions,  represented  by  Minuciusand 
Lactantius,  maintained  itself.  Religion  was  "th(3 
law",  but  after  the  Church  had  under  compulsion  de- 
clared (dl  sins  pardonable  (Novatian  crisis),  religion 
was  also  the  ecclesiastical  penitential  institute.  No 
theologian,  liowever,  before  Augustine  was  able  to 
reallv  adjust  '•/e:t'"  and  "venia".  In  Rome  jind 
Carthage  they  labored  at  the  strengthening  of  the 
Cli\urch,  at  the  composing  of  an  ecclesiastical  rule  of 
morals  possible  of  fulfilment,  and  at  the  education  of 
the  community  through  divine  service  and  peniten- 
tial rules.  The  mass-Christianity  created  the  clergy 
and  the  sacraments,  the  clergy  sar  .nified  the  mon- 
grel religion  for  the  laity.  The  formulas  wee  al- 
most entirely  TertuUianic,  yet  his  spirit  was  being 
crushed  out, 

4.  The  Occident  and  the  Orient  were  already  sep- 
arated in  the  age  of  Constantine,  but  the  Arian  eon- 
nasticism    test  brought  them  again  together.     The  Occidental 

from 

Orient,  orthodoxy  supported  the  Oriental  and  received  from 
it  two  great  gifts:  Scientific  (Origenistic)  theology 
and  7nonasticism.     These  were  in  reality  a  single 


Occident 

Receives 

Origenistic 

Theology 


DEVKLOl'MKN'I    OF    DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      XM 


Kle 


gift,  for  moiiasticisni  (tlio  idoal  of  divinely  iiisi)iiv(l 
celibacy  in  close  union  with  (jod)  is  the  i)ractic;d  ap- 
plication of  that  ''science".  Thus  the  Occidental 
theology  of  the  last  half  of  the  1th  century  is  re])re- 
scnted  by  two  lines  which  converge  in  Augustine: 
The  line  of  the  Greek  scholars  (Hilary,  N'ictor- 
inus  Rhetor,  Rufinus,  Jerome)  and  the  line  of  the 
genuine  Latin  scholars  (0[)tatus,  Pacian,  Pruden- 
tius).  In  both  lines,  however,  must  Ambrose  be 
named  as  theologicall}'  the  most  imnortant  fore- 
runner of  Augustine. 

5.  The  Cireek  scholars  transplanted  the  scientific 
(pneumatic)  ex<'gesis  of  Philo  and  Origen  and  the 
speculative  orthodox  theolog}'  of  the  Cappadocians 
into  the  Occident.  With  the  first  they  silenced  the 
doubts  in  regard  to  the  Old  Testament  and  met  the 
onset  of  Manicliaeism,  vv^th  the  second  they,  espe- 
cially Ambrose,  relaxed  the  tension  which  existc. 
until  after  the  year  08],  between  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
Orient  and  that  of  the  Occident.  Through  three  suc- 
cessive contributions  Greek  speculation  entered  into 
the  theology  of  the  Occident,  (1)  Through  Ambrose, 
Victorinus  and  Augustine,  {'I)  Through  Boethius  in 
the  Gth  centur}'  (here  Aristotelian),  (:>)  Through  the 
Areopagite  in  the  l>th  century.  In  Victorinus  is  al- 
ready found  that  combination  of  Neo-Platonism  and 
Paulinism,  which  forms  the  foundation  of  the  Au- 
gustinian  theology;  in  Ambrose  is  already  conspicu- 
ous that  union  of  speculation  and  religious  individ- 
ualism, which  characterizes  the  great  African. 


Amhroso, 

Vicfdi-.ims. 

Aii^rustiiif; 

lUictliiiis, 

tlic    Ai'fo- 


.1 


I    t 


I 


i;v 


Prohh'iu  of 

Lutiii 

Church. 


Donntist 

CVm- 
troversy. 


nna        OTTLINKS   or   TIIK    IIISTOUY    OF    IKKJMA. 

0.  Tlio  real  prohk'in  of  tlu;  Latin  Church  was  the 
application  of  thi>  Christian  hiw,  and  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal  treatment  of  sinners.  In  tlie  Orient  they  laid 
j^reater  weight  upon  tiie  effects  of  the  cultus  as  a 
single  institution  and  upon  silent  self-education 
through  asceticism  and  prayer;  in  the  Occident  they 
had  a  greater  sense  of  standing  in  religious  relations 
to  law,  in  which  they  were  responsible  to  the  Church, 
but  also  might  expect  from  it  sacramental  and  pre- 
catory assistance  through  individual  appro})riation. 
The  sense  of  sin  as  open  guilt  was  more  strongly 
developed.  This  reacted  upon  their  conception  of  the 
Church.  As  regards  the  development  of  the  latter, 
Optatus  {de  scJusniafe  Don  at  isf  a  rum)  was  the  fore- 
runner of  Augustine,  as  regards  the  stricter  concep- 
tion of  sin,  Ambrose. 

The  Donatist  controversy,  in  which  the  ]\[ontanist 
and  N(^vatian  controversies  were  continued  under  a 
])eculiar  limitation,  had  its  roots  in  personal  (juar- 
r(»ls ;  but  it  soon  acquired  an  importance  on  principle. 
The  Donatist  party  (in  the  course  of  development  it 
became  an  African  national  party,  assumed  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  state,  which  oppressed  it,  a  free,  eccle- 
siastical attitude  and  even  cultivated  a  revolutionarj'- 
enthusiasm)  denied  the  validity  of  an  ordination 
administered  by  a  traitor,  and  therefore  also  the 
validity  of  the  sacraments  which  a  bishop,  conse- 
crated by  a  traitor,  administered  (consequently  the 
demand  for  re-baptism) .  It  was  the  last  remnant  of 
the  old  demand  that  in  the  Church  not  only  the  in- 


! 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRTXE   OF   SIX,  ETC.      'Xi^ 


I*' 


stitution,  but  above  all  Ibo  persons  iDUst  be  lioly, 
and  the  Donatists  were  able  to  appeal  for  tluMr  tlieses 
to  the  celebrated  Cyprian.  At  least  a  minimum  of 
personal  wortliiness  in  tlie  elerj^y  sbould  still  be 
necessary,  in  order  tliat  tlie  Cluu'cb  niij^bl  remain 
the  true  Church.  In  opi)()sition  to  it  the  C\itholics 
drew  the  conscipiences  of  the*  "objective"  Church 
idea.  Optatus  above  all  asserted  that  the  truth  and  <^ptaiuH 
holiness  of  the  Church  resides  in  the  sacraments,  and 
that  therefore  the  j)ersonal  (luality  of  the  adminis- 
trator is  immaterial  {"ccclcsin  nna  est,  cuitifi  sanc- 
titas  da  sacranwnti.s  colli(jiffn\  iion  de  sn])('rhia 
persoitanun  ponderatu)''') ;  he  furthermore  showed, 
that  the  Church,  in  contrast  with  the  conventicle  of 
the  Donatists,  held  the  guarantee  of  its  truth  in  its 
Catholicitij.  They  also  hit  upon  jui  evangelical  prin- 
ciple in  so  far  as  they  emphasized /« /7//  at  the  side 
and  with  the  sacrament,  in  oppt)sition  to  personal 
sanctity.  Thus  already  prior  to  Augustine  the  found- 
ation for  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Church 
and  the  sacraments  was  laid  by  Optatus.  But  Am-  Ambrosp. 
broso  especially  had  emphasized  faith  in  connection 
with  a  deeper  conception  of  sin.  Since  Tertullian 
the  conception  of  sin  as  vitinni  ori(/i)iis  and  as  sin 
against  Godwim  known  in  the  Occident.  Ambrose 
extended  the  view  in  both  directions  and  ai)preciated 
accordingly  the  importance  of  the  Pauline  idea  of 
gratia,  just ijicalio,  and  remissio  pccrnfontm  ("  //- 
lf(d,  miln  prodest,  quod  iion  justijicanntr  ex  operi- 
bus  leyis  .   .   .  gloriahor  in  Cltvisiu;  tiougloriabor, 


I     . 


!  i 


3:34        OUTLINES   OF   TIIK    HISTOKY    OF    IXXiMA. 

quid  icstns  snnt^  .scd  (jlorifthor,  </ni(i  rcdempttis 
.s/n//").  It  was  of  oiKx-lial  significance  that  people 
in  the  Occident  l)ecani('  attentive  to  Pauline  ideas  of 
sin  and  graci',  law  and  gospel,  at  the  very  time 
when  they  externalized  the  conception  of  th(*  Church 
and  created  a  doctrine  of  the  sacraments.  Ambrose 
himself,  it  is  true,  was  strongly  influenced  hy  the 
common  Catholic  views  respecting  law,  virtue  and 
merit. 


.'  '■i^ 


ivcuiiar-        The  more  vital  conception  of  God,  the  strong  feel- 
it  it>s  of  '  '  *^ 

niHstiai!-  '**l^  ^^  responsibility  to  the  Judge,  the  consciousness 
'  ^'  of  God  as  a  moral  Power  restrained  or  relaxed  by  no 
speculations  concerning  nature,  the  conception  of 
Christ  as  the  man  whose  work  for  us  possesses  in  the 
sight  of  God  an  infinite  value,  the  placafio  {satis- 
f  actio)  Dc^i"  through  his  death,  the  Church  as  a  peda- 
gogical institution  securely  relying  ui)on  the  means 
of  salvation  (the  sacraments),  the  Holy  Scripture  as 
lex  Dei,  the  symbol  as  the  sure  content  of  doctrine, 
the  conceiving  of  the  Christian  life  from  the  points  of 
view  of  guilt,  atonement  and  merit,  even  if  conceived 
more  ecclesiasticallj^  than  religiously, — in  these  are 
represented   the  peculiarities   of    Occidental    Chris- 

Aiisustino    tianity  prior   to  Augustine.     He   affirmed   and  yet 

Altiniis 

aii.i  I  raus-  transformed  them.     Above  all  the  soteriological  ques- 
Tiiem.      tion  awaited  a  solution.     By  the  side  of  Maniclijiean, 
Origenistic-Neo-Platonic  and  stoic-rationalistic  con- 
ceptions of   evil  and  of  redemption  there  dickered 


-J  .V'-?*''-**-"*''      ■^'"  '■' 


I)KVEL()PMKAT   oK    DOCTHTNK   OF  STN,  ETC.      ?>''U) 


alsoiR'ar  the  yfar  KM)  lu>ro  ami  tlicn^  in  the  Occident 
PiiulinL'  conceptions,  wliicli,  jih  a  rule,  covered  moral 
laxities,  yet  nevertheless  in  sonic  represi-ntatives 
wore  exj)ressions  fur  evangelical  convictions  which 
did  not  harnioni/e  with  the  times  and  would  thero- 
t'oro  of  necessity  he  fatal  to  the  (^-itholic;  (*hurch  (Jo- 
vinian).  If  one  considers  in  addition  that  ahout  the 
year  400  paganism  was  still  a  jtower,  one  can  com- 
prehend what  a  prol)h>m  awaited  Augustine!  He 
would  not  have  been  able  to  solve  it  lor  the  whole 
Occidental  Church,  had  the  latter  not  been  still  a 
lUiO;  at  that  time.  The  Western  Roman  (>mpire 
still  exi.sted,  and  it  almost  seems  as  tliough  its  misi-r- 
al)lo  existence  had  only  been  prolonged  to  make  the 
world-historical  work  of  Augustine  possible. 


CHAPTER   HI. 

THE   WORLD-HISTORICAL     POSITION     OP    AUGUSTINE 
AS    REFORMER   OF   CHRISTIAN   PIETY. 

Bindormann,  dor  li.  Au^-,  ^  Bdo.,  1S44-09.  B(")lirin^rr, 
AuRUstiu,  2.  And.,  ISTTf.  R«Hik'r,  AuKiust.  Studicn,  ISST. 
llavnack,  Au^'s  Coiifcssiouen,  1888.  Bigg,  Tlie  Christian 
Platonists  of  Ak'x.,   188v. 

Onp]  maj"  seek  to  construct  Augustinianism  fi-om 
the  premises  of  the  current  Occidental  Christianit}' 
(see  the  Tirevious  cha])ter)  or  from  the  course  of  the 
training  of  Augustine  (the  pagan  father,  tlu^  ])ious 
Christian  mother,  Cicero's  Hovtcnsius,  Manichansni, 
Aristotelianism,  Neo-Platonism  with  its  mysticism 


I'.lpriicnts 
III  AiiKW^- 
(i'lianism. 


t  ;  , 


It 


I 


It  <  "; 


I  Hi 


AuRustine 
Redis- 
covered 

Kelif,'ion. 


United  Re- 
ligion and 
Morality. 


>[a(le  Re- 

lifjion  a 

Thine  of 

the  Heart. 


33G        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

aiiid  skepticism,  the  influcTice  of  Ambrose  and  of 
monasticism),  but  neither  of  these  methods  of  proced- 
ure, nor  even  both  of  them,  will  entirely  accomn^^'^h 
clic  end  in  view.  Augustine  in  religion  discovered 
religion ;  he  recognized  his  heart  as  the  lowest,  the 
living  God  as  the  highest  good;  he  possessed  an  en- 
chanting abilitv  and  facility  for  expressing  inward 
observations:  In  this  consist  his  individuality  and 
his  greatness.  In  the  love  of  God  and  in  the  sub- 
dued grief  of  his  soul  he  found  that  elation  which 
lifts  man  al)ove  the  world  and  makes  him  another 
bciiigy  while  prior  to  him  theologians  had  dreamed 
that  man  must  become  another  heincj  in  order  to  be 
civile  to  be  saved,  or  had  contented  themselves  with 
striving  after  virtue.  He  separated  nature  and  grace, 
but  bound  together  religion  and  morality  and  gave  to 
the  idea  of  the  good  a  new  meaning.  He  destroyed 
the  phantom  of  the  popular  antique  psychology  and 
moralism;  he  discarded  the  intellectualism  and 
optimism  of  antiquit}',  but  allowed  the  former  to  re- 
vive again  in  the  pious  thought  of  the  man  who  foTind 
in  the  loving  God  true  existence;  and  in  terminat- 
ing Christian  pessimism,  he  at  the  same  time  passed 
beyond  it  through  the  surety  of  pardoning  grace. 
But  more  than  all,  he  held  before  every  soul  its  own 
glory  and  responsibility — God  and  the  soul,  the  soul 
ar.d  its  God.  He  rescued  religion  from  its  com- 
munal and  cultus  form  and  restored  it  to  the  heart 
as  a  gift  and  as  a  gracious  life.  Love,  unfeigned 
humility  and  strength  to  overcome  the  world,  these 


m 


DEVELOPME'^IT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.      337 


Prnp-An- 

fiustinian 

Piety. 


are  the  elements  of  religion  and  its  blessedness ;  they 
spring  from  the  actual  possession  of  the  loving  God. 
"  Happy  are  the  men  who  consider  Thee  their 
strength,  who  from  their  heart  walk  in  Thy  steps". 
This  message  Augustine  preached  to  the  Christianity 
of  his  time  and  of  all  times. 

1.  The  Pra^-Angiistinian  piety  was  a  wavering  be- 
tween fear  and  hope.  Zt  Uccd  not  in  the  faith. 
Knowing  and  doing  good,  it  taught,  brings  salvation, 
after  that  mari  has  received  forgiveness  for  past  sins 
through  baptism ;  but  man  does  not  experience  sal- 
vation. Neither  baptism  nor  asceticism  freed  from 
fear;  men  did  not  fe(^l  strong  enough  to  trust  in  their 
own  virtue,  nor  guilty  and  Ix'lieving  env)ugli  to  take 
comfort  in  the  grace  of  God  in  'Christ.  Fear  and 
hope  remained ;  they  v;ere  tremendous  forces.  They 
shook  the  w^orld  and  built  the  Church;  Imt  they  were 
not  able  to  create  for  the  individual  a  blessed  life. 
Augustine  advanced  from  sinsto.s'/yi  and  guitt^  from  ^"''^,^,"*' 
baptism  to  grace.  The  exclusiveness  and  firmness 
with  which  he  affiliated  the  guilty  man  and  the  liv- 
ing God  is  the  new  teaching  which  distinguishes 
him  from  all  his  predecessors.  "  Against  Thee,  Thee 
only,  have  I  sinned" — "Thou,  O  Lord,  hast  created 
us  in  thy  likeness,  and  our  heart  is  restless  till  it 
finds  its  rest  in  Thee" — '"da  quod  iiibes,  et  tube 
quod  vis  " — "  eo,  quod  quiaque  novif,  non  fruitiir^ 
nisi  et  iddiligit,  neque  quis</uaiu  in  eOy  quad  per- 
cipit,  pcnnauet  n  isi  dilectione'\  This  is  the  mighty 
concord  which  his  ear  caught  from  tlie  Holy  Scri})- 


Fear  nnd 
HoiK". 


m 


fi 


Jr 


_» 


338        OUTLINES   OP   THE   IIISTOKY   OF   DOGMA. 


All  Sin  is 

Sm 
Against 

(J  0(1. 


Milii   Ad- 
liiiei'fM'e 
Dt'o  Bo- 

nuni  Est. 


(xratia 
(ir'iUis 
l);itu. 


tiires,  from  the  deepest  contempkition  of  the  human 
heart  and  from  the  speculation  concerning  the  first 
and  hist  things.  In  a  spirit  devoid  of  God  r<//  is  sin; 
that  the  Sjyirit  exists  is  the  onl}'  good  remaining. 
Sin  is  the  sphere  and  the  form  of  the  inner  life  of 
every  natural  man.  Furthermore,  all  sin  is  sin 
against  God;  for  a  created  spirit  has  only  o?ic  last- 
ing relationship,  njuncly  that  to  (rod.  Sin  is  the 
disposition  to  be  an  independent  being  {.su2)crbia) ; 
therefore  is  its  form  desire  and  unrest.  In  this  un- 
rest is  revealed  the  never  appeased  lufit  and  fear. 
The  latter  is  evil,  the  former  when  striving  after 
bliss  (blessedness)  is  good,  but  when  striving  after 
perishable  goods  is  evil.  We  iniisf  strive  to  he  happt/ 
{^' infelices  esse  nolumus  sed  nee  velle  possniiius^") 
— this  striving  is  the  life  bestowed  upon  us  by  God 
which  cannot  be  lost — but  there  is  only  one  good,  one 
bliss  and  one  rest:  ""  Jlihi  adhaerere  deo  honum 
est.^'  Only  in  the  atmosphere  of  God  does  the  soul 
live  and  rest.  But  the  Lord  who  created  us  has  re- 
deemed us.  Through  grace  and  love  which  have 
been  revealed  in  Christ,  he  calls  us  ])ack  h'om.  dis- 
traction to  himself,  makes  c.r  nolenfihus  rolentes  and 
bestoAVS  upon  us  thereby  an  in{'om})i'ehensiblc  new 
being  which  consists  of  faith  cind  love.  These  ong- 
inate  in  God ;  they  are  the  means  by  which  the  living 
God  imparts  himself  to  us.  But  faith  is  faith  in  the 
''  gralict  gratis  datcC.,  and  love  is  joy  in  God  blended 
with  that  humility  which  renounces  all  that  is  indi- 
vidual.    The  soul  regards  these  favors  as  a  perpetual 


Ing- 


oing 
I  the 
(led 
lidi- 


i;ui  I'it'ty 
Ktiunlai'il 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      o^O 

gift  and  a  holy  mystery,  in  whicli  it  ac(iiiires  every- 
thing that  God  requires;  for  a  heart  endowed  with 
faith  and  love  actjuires  that  justice  which  ])revails 
before  God  and  possesses  that  peace  which  exalts 
above  unrest  and  fear.  It  cannot  indeed  for  a  mo- 
ment forget  1hat  it  is  still  entangled  with  the  world 
and  in  sin,  3'et  it  always  associates  grace  with  sin. 
Sin  and  misery  overcome  by  faith,  humility  and  love 
— that  is  Christian  piety.  In  the  absorbing  thoughts 
of  faith  which  thus  continually  recur  the  soul  is  at 
rest  and  yet  it  ever  strives  irrepressibly  upward. 

In  this  mode  of  feeling  (uid  thinking  religion  dis- 
closed itself  more  deeply,  and  the  Augustinian  type 
of  piety  became  the  authoritative  standard  in  the  Occident. 
Occident  till  the  Reformation,  yes  even  till  this  day; 
however  a  qniefistic^  one  might  almost  say  a  nar- 
cotic element  is  hidden  therein  which  is  not  found 
in  the  Gospel. 

'i.  In  the  foregoing  the  piety  of  Augustine  is  only  „r'»""^i'f: 
one-sidedly  defined.  There  was  also  in  his  i)i(^ty  a 
CatiwUc  spirit;  yes,  he  first  created  that  intermin- 
gling of  the  freest,  individual  surrender  to  tlu^  Divine 
with  the  constant,  obedient  submission  totheCluu-ch 
as  an  institution  endowed  with  the  means  of  grace, 
so  characteristic  of  Occidental  Catholicism.  In  de- 
tail the  following  points  are  esj^ecially  to  be  empha- 
sized, in  which  he  affirmed  the  "(^itholic"  element, 
and  even  enhanced  the  sane:  (I)  Kirsi,  h(»  trans- 
formed the  authority  of  Uh'  Cliiitch  into  a  religious 
power  and  gave  to  practical  religion  a  doctrine  con- 


liis  I'icly. 


Miiliniiiy 
Cliiiich. 


1        I 


i 


M'i 


I  r 


m 


tlM 


Cliiiirli 

Orpan  of 

Grace. 


G.id  Ex- 

lor  (irace 
:\ui\   Sacra- 

lIliMltS. 


340       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

cerning  the  Church.  In  this  he  was  guided  by  two 
considenitions,  viz. :  Skepticism  and  an  appreciation 
of  the  vahie  of  ecclesiastical  communion  as  an  histor- 
ical power.  In  the  first  place,  he  was  convinced  that 
the  isolated  individual  could  not  by  any  means  arrive 
at  a  full  and  safe  understanding  of  the  truth  of  the 
revealed  teaching — it  presents  too  many  stumbling- 
blocks;  like  as  he  therefore  threw  him.self  into  the 
arms  of  the  authority  of  the  Church,  so  he  taught  in 
general,  that  the  Church  stands  for  the  truth  of 
the  faith,  tchere  the  individual  is  uot  able  to  rec- 
ognize the  same,  and  that  accordingly  acts  of  faith 
are  at  the  same  time  acts  of  obedience.  In  the  sec- 
ond place,  while  breaking  with  moralism  he  recog- 
nized that  the  gratia  had  had  an  historical  effect  and 
had  made  the  Church  its  organism.  Insight  into  the 
position  of  the  Church  in  the  tottering  Roman  em- 
pire strengthened  this  view.  But  not  only  as  skeptic 
and  historian  did  Augustine  recognize  the  import- 
ance of  the  Church,  but  also  by  virtue  of  his  strong 
piety.  This  piety  wanted  external  authority  as 
every  living  religious  faith  has  always  wanted  it  and 
will  want  it.  Augustine  found  it  in  the  testimony 
of  the  Church.  {2)  Although  he  unequivocally  ac- 
knowledged in  his  Confessions:  Religion  is  the  pos- 
sessing of  the  living  God,  yet  in  the  interpretation 
of  his  theology  lie  exchanged  the  living  God  for 
the  gratia,  the  latter  for  the  sacraments,  and  thus 
compressed,  as  it  were,  that  which  is  most  living 
an;1  most  free  into  a  material  benefit  entrusted  to  the 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DDCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ET(".       :)1  1 


Church.  Misled  by  the  burning  conflicts  of  the  time 
(Donatist  controvers}')  he  thus  paid  the  heaviest 
tribute  to  current  ideas  and  founded  the  sacramental 
Church  of  the  Middle  Ages.  But  wherever  he  goes 
beyond  the  sacraments  back  to  God  himself,  there 
in  subsequent  times  he  has  always  been  in  da]ig(>r 
of  neutralizing  the  importance  also  of  Christ  and  of 
losing  himself  in  the  abyss  '^^  the  thought  of  the 
sole-efficiency  of  God  (doctrine  of  predestination). 
(;j)  Although  he  acknowledged  v  ith  all  his  heart  D(;^tnneof 
the  gratia  gratis  data  and,  consequently,  the  sover- 
eignty of  faith,  yet  he  also  united  with  it  the  old 
scheme,  that  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  single  indi- 
vidual depends  upon  "  merits  "  and  upon  these  onl5\ 
He  accordingly  saw  in  the  merit  a  resulting  ii-om 
the  fides  caritate  fontiata,  which  indeed  are  Dei 
munera,  the  aim  of  all  Christian  development,  and 
he  thereby  not  only  made  it  easy  for  futurity  to  re- 
tain the  old  scheme  under  the  cover  of  his  words, 
but  he  himself  also  failed  to  perceive  the  real  essence 
of  faith  {i.e.  steadfast  confidence  in  God,  result- 
ing from  the  assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin)  as 
the  highest  gift  of  God.  His  doctrine,  however,  of 
instilled  love  was  neutral  as  regards  the  historical 
Christ.  (4)  Although  Augustine  was  able  to  testify  ^'^^JJ;;""//'' 
to  the  joy  of  that  blessedness  which  the  Christian  ^'""  '^'^''" 
already  possesses  in  faith  and  in  love,  yet  he  was 
not  able  to  present  a  definite  aim  to  the  present  life; 
he  shared  in  general  the  traditional  Catholic  disposi- 
tion of  mind,  and  the  quietism  of  his  piety  imparted 


:342       OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 

to  Christian  actloitij  no  new  impulses.  That  it 
shoukl  receive  such  through  the  work  "  tie  civitate 
dei "  was  in  reality  not  intended  by  Augustine. 

Augustine's  theology  is  to  be  understood  upon  the 
basis  of  the  peculiar  form  of  his  piety.  His  religious 
theories  are  in  part  nothing  else  than  theoretically 
explained  frames  of  mind  and  experiences.  But 
in  these  were  also  collected  the  manifold  religious 
experiences  and  moral  reflections  of  the  old  world : 
The  psalms  and  Paul,  Plato  and  the  Necj-Platonists, 
the  moralists,  Tertullian  and  Ambrose, — all  are 
found  again  in  Augustine. 


I    v 


AufTUstine 
UiiilU's 
C'huroJi 

Duotriues. 


His  Doe 
trine,  how- 
ever. Com- 
plicated. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    WORLD-HISTORTCxVL    POSITION    OP    AUGUSTINE 
AS   TEACHER    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

The  ancient  Church  expounded  its  theology  from 
the  centres  of  Christology  and  the  doctrine  of 
freedom  (doctrine  of  morals) ;  Augustine  drew  the 
two  centres  together.  TJie  good  became  to  him  the 
axis  for  the  contemplation  of  all  blessings.  Moral 
good  and  redemptive  good  should  include  eacli  other 
{ipsa  virtus  et  praemium  virtutis).  He  brought 
dogmatics  down  from  the  heavens ;  yet  did  not  dis- 
card the  old  conception  but  amalgamated  it  with 
the  new.  In  his  interpretations  of  the  symbol  this 
union  is  most  clearly  manifest.  Through  his  prse- 
Catholic  development  and  conversion,  then  through 


devp:lopment  of  doctrine  of  sin,  etc.     'M') 

his  conflict  witli  Donatism  and  Polagianism,  Cliris- 
tianity  appeared  to  him  in  a  new  forir  ,  but  inas- 
much as  ho  considered  the  synib(3i  as  the  essence  of 
doctrine,  his  conception  of  doctrine  necessarily  be- 
came complicated — a  union  of  the  old  Catholic  theol- 
ogy and  of  the  old  ecclesiastical  scheme  with  his 
new  thoughts  on  the  doctrine  of  faith  compressed 
into  the  ^rame  of  the  symbol.  This  mixture  of  ele- 
ments, which  the  Occidental  Church  has  preserved 
until  this  day,  subsecpiently  caused  contradictions 
and  rendered  the  old  dogma  impressionless. 

In  detail  the  following  discrepancies  in  the  theol-  (PilfH^^l^f^i^'a 
ogy  of  Augustine  are  especially  to  be  noted :  (1)  The  ""  '^^^' 
discrepancies  between  symbol  and  Scripture.  Those 
who  place  Scripture  above  the  symbol,  as  well  as 
those  who  prescribe  the  opposite  order,  can  refer  to 
him.  Augustine  strengthened  Biblicism  and  at  the 
same  time  also  the  position  of  those  ecclesiastics  who 
with  Tertullian  refuted  the  Biblicists.  {:>)  The  dis- 
crepancy between  the  principle  of  Scripture  and  tiie 
principle  of  salvation.  Augustine  taught,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  only  the  Huhstdiice  {i.e.  salvation)  is 
of  importance  in  the  Scriptures;  yes,  he  advanced 
as  far  sometimes  as  that  spiritualism  which  skips 
over  the  Scriptures ;  on  the  other  hand,  he  could  not 
rid  himself  of  the  thought  that  every  word  of  the 
Scriptures  is  absolute  revelation.  (3)  The  discrep- 
ancy between  his  conceptions  of  the  essence  of  relig- 
ion; on  the  one  hand,  it  is  faith,  love,  hope;  yet,  on 
the  other,  knowledge  and  super-terrestrial,  immortal 


.;') 


^IN  .■ 


:-ir.i 


.r-1 


)4 

1 

N 

344        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   J)OUMA. 

life;  it  should  aim  to  secure  blessedness  through 
grace,  and  again  through  the  amor  infellectnalis. 
Faitli  as  conceived  by  Paul  and  a  non-cosmic  mys- 
ticism contend  for  the  primacy.  (4)  The  discrep- 
ancy between  the  doctrine  of  pi -^destined  grace  ard 
a  doctrine  of  f.^rr'ce  i>  il.  '  js.: :)i.itiall}  an  eci-*lesias- 
tical  and  sacramen*^al  il-vinio.  (5)  Discrepancies 
within  the  principal  line;,  of  ti*  jjht.  Thus  in  the 
doctrine  of  grace  the  thought  of  the  (jratia  per 
{propter)  Christum  not  infrequently  conflicts  with 
the  conception  of  a  grace  flowing  nidcpendontlj''  from 
Christ  out  of  the  original  being  of  God  as  the  Hum- 
mum  honnm  and  summum  esse.  Thus,  in  his 
ecclesiastical  doctrine,  the  hierarchical-sacramental 
basal  element  is  not  reconciled  with  a  liberal,  uni- 
versal view,  such  as  originated  with  the  apologists. 
^iKu-ufnl"  ^^^  ^"^^^  distinguish  three  planes  in  the  tlieology 
loffir,  uiui    of  Augustine:    Tlie  predestinarian,  tlie  soteriologic, 

I'lock'sias- 

tico-sacra-  and  tlic  plauc  of  the  authority  and  of  the  sacraments 

mental  '■  *^ 

Elements.  ^^£  ^^iq  Churcli ;  but  ouc  would  uot  do  him  justice, 
if  one  should  describe  these  elevations  separately,  for 
in  his  summary  of  the  whole  they  are  united.  Just 
because  his  rich  spirit  embraced  all  these  discrepan- 
cies and  characteristically  represented  them  as  ex- 
periences, has  he  become  the  father  of  the  Church 
of  the  Occident.  He  is  the  father  of  the  Roman 
Church  and  of  the  Reformation,  of  Biblicists  and  of 
mystics;  yes,  even  the  Renaissance  and  modern 
empirical  philosophy  (psychology)  are  indebted  to 
him.     New  dogmas,  in  the  strict  sense,  he  did  not 


/• 


i 


DF.VKLOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINK   OF   SIN,  KTC.      lUS 

inti'oilneo.  It  wa.-  lol't  to  u  very  inucli  lator  period 
t )  foriniilatf  strictly  dofinitp 'lognias  out  of  the  trans- 
formation wrought  by  hiiu  in  tlio  old  dogmatic 
raaterial,  i.e.  the  condenniation  of  Pclagianism  and 
the  nev;  aocirine  of  the  sacraments. 


I       I 


ft 


1.  Augustine's  Doctrine    of  ttie  First  and  Tjisf 

Things. 

Siebeck,  in  d.  Ztsclir.  f.  Phil.  u.  pliil.   Kritik,  1888,  J-',  '"-l 
ff.     Gangauf,  Motaphys.   Psycliol.   d.  h.    Aug.,    1852.       ■.^r-d. 
Die  Phil.  d.  h.  Aug.,  ISS'i.      Scipio,  Dt'sAinvl.  Aug.  Mftupi^  . 
188G.     Kahl,  Priiiuit  d.  Wilk'ns  1).  Aug..l88G.     Kiilme     A.  "h 
Anschauuug  V.  d.  Erlos.  lu'dcutuugChristi,  1800. 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom:    AiiKustint> 

*^  ^  "Alter  Ar- 

With  the  life  of  prayer  Augustine  united  an  inward  '^'"^'"''^=^"- 
contemplation  which  led  him,  the  j)upil  of  the  Neo- 
Platonists  and  of  Paul,  to  a  new  psychology  and 
theology.  He  ])ecanie  iha  "  ((tt(  r  Aristoteles"  in 
making  tlu;  inner  life  the  starting-point  for  thoughts 
concerning  the  world.  He  first  absolutely  put  away 
the  naive-objective  frame  of  mind  and  with  it  the 
antique-classical,  at  the  same  time,  howevi^r,  the 
remnants  of  the  polytheistic  view  also.  He  was 
the  first  monotheistic  theologian  (in  tke  strict 
sense  of  the  word)  among  the  Church  fathers, 
since  he  lifted  the  Neo-Platonic  philosophy  above 
himself.     Not  unfamiliar  with  the  realm  of  knovvl-   /J''  ^^'91'';' 

Know  Only 

edge  of  the  objective  world,  he  yet  wished  to  know    tilesou/. 
but  two  things,  God  and  the  soul;  for  his  skepticit^m 
had  dissolved  the  world  of  external  phenomena,  but 


I 


fit 


Desii'H  for 
Ilappiiu'ss. 


Only  l!u> 

Good  Will 

is  Free. 


iih;        OUTLINES   OK  TirR    HISTOKY    OF   DOfJMA. 

ill  tlu!  fliglit  (tf  IIm'so  |>li(Mi()in('iiii  Wm  facts  of  the 
inner  lii'o  had,  after  painful  struggles,  remained  to 
him  as  f<U'ts.  Even  if  th(;re  exists  no  evil  and  no 
God,  tli<n'o  still  exists  nncjuestioiiably  the  fear  of  evil. 
Out  of  this,  i.e.  through  psychological  analysis,  one 
can  find  the  soul  and  CJod  and  sketch  a  picture  of  the 
world.  Hence  the  skeptic  can  arrive  at  the  knowl- 
edge of  truth,  for  which  the  marrow  of  the  soul 
sighs. 

The  fund;nnoiital  form  of  the  life  of  the  soul  is  the 
desire  for  linp])iness  [cnpido^  amor)  as  a  desire  for 
blessedness.  AH  inclinations  are  only  developments 
of  this  fundamental  form  (as  receptivity  and  as 
activity)  and  they  are  valid  for  the  sphere  of  the 
spiritual  life  as  well  as  for  that  of  the  sensuous. 
The  will  is  connected  with  these  inclinations,  never- 
theless it  is  a  power  rising  above  sensuous  nature 
(Augustine  is  an  indoterminist).  In  voncreto  it  is 
indeed  bound  to  the  sensuous  instincts,  i.e.  not  free. 
Theoretical  freedom  of  election  becomes  real  freedom 
only  when  the  cupiditas  {(imor)  honi huHhecome  the 
ruling  motive  for  the  will,  i.e.  only  the  good  will  is 
free.  Moral  g(wdness  and  freedom  of  will  coincide. 
The  truly  free  will  has  its  freedom  in  the  impulse  of 
the  good  {beata  necessitas  boiii).  This  bondage  is 
freedom,  because  it  withdraws  the  will  from  the  do- 
minion of  the  lower  instincts  and  realizes  the  destiny 
and  disposition  of  man  to  be  filled  with  true  exist- 
ence and  life.  In  attachment  to  the  good,  therefore, 
is  realized  the  higher  aiypeiifas,  the  true  instinct  of 


DKVKI.OI'MKNI     (>!•    DOCTIllNK    Ol'    SIN,   KTC.       :)\7 

solf-pivsorvatioii  in  man;  while  lie  gradually  briiij^s 
:ib(jut  his  uwii  (U'slnu'tion,  if  lu'  follows  his  lowor  in- 
stincts. Fui'tliosc  lini'softhoUf^ht  Augnstino  claiincd 
-itrit't  validity,  for  ho  know  that  uvory  man,  meditat- 
ing about  himself,  must  aniiin  them.  With  thoni 
Augustine  united  the  results  of  the  Neo-lMatonic  cos-     Xtni'ii- 


tiillic  (  'n 
llliilo^'ii't'l 

Spi'ciila- 
Adtiptfil, 


Bt'iiij,'. 


luological  Hi)ecnlation ;  but  the  ^^iniple  greatness  of 
his  living  conceptic^n  of  Ood  woiked  powerfidly  upon 
them  and  coerced  the  artilicially  gaincnl  elemi'uts  of 
the  doctrine  of  God  again  and  again  into  the  sim- 
plest confession :  "The  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  is 
love;  he  is  the  salvation  of  the  soul;  whom  should  ye 
fear"? 

Through  the  Neo- Platonic  speculation  (through  '''"" '^j.',"', 
proof  of  the  nothingness  of  phenomena  and  through  c)niy'Tni. 
progressive  elimination  of  the  lower  si)heres  of  the 
sensuous  and  conceivable)  Augustine  arrived  at  the 
conception  of  the  one,  unchangeable,  eternal  Being 
{incorpori'd  vci^itcis^  spiritalis  .suhslnutia,  lux  in- 
conunuf(ihilis).  At  the  same  time  this  snimnum 
esse  alone  corresponds  to  the  simplicity  of  the  high- 
est objc'ct  of  the  soul's  desire.  This  sioiinnnn  esse 
alone  is  in  reality  tJie  Behig^  since  every  other  being 
has  the  quality  of  non-being,  and  can  indeed  not  ex- 
ist but  really  perishes.  But,  on  tlie  other  hand,  it  can 
also  be  conceived  as  the  development  of  the  sole  Sub- 
stance, as  the  radiant  artistic  expression  of  the  latter, 
and  in  this  concepti(.)n  the  metaphysically  dissolved 
phenomena  and  the  interest  therein  recur  in  an  [es- 
thetic form.     Yet  this  natural  feeling  is  still  only 


\A     I, 


'^vl 


34.S        <)UT[JNKS   OK   TIIK    lirSTOKV    OK    DOOMA. 


the  (.'staMishiiig  of  tho  Augustiniaii  coiiccption.  He 
(luort  not  Hurroiulor  himyelf  to  it,  hut  rather  i>as9es 
over  at  onct^  to  tho  ohscrvation,  that  the  suul  strives 
for  this  higliest  Being  and  seeks  it  in  all  lower  good 
with  in(l<>struetihle,  nohle  concupiscence;  yet  nftcr 
(ill  il  hcsildfcs  to  seize  the  same.     Here  a  dreadful 

MonsimuH  paradox  i)resented  itself  to  him,  which  he  designates 
as  "  y//o//.s7/'/n// ",  vi/,,  flidt  the  will  dees  not  acta- 
allij  icdut,  trhaf  it  /ra/y/.s,  or  rdfher  icltot  it  seems  to 
want.  Together  with  the  whole  weight  of  man's  in- 
dividual responsihility  Augustine  conceived  this  state 
of  the  case,  which  was  ameliorated  hy  no  iusthetic 
consideration,  yet  at  times  was  so  smooth  to  him 
(tho  cosmos  with  light  and  shadow  as  the  "jj!(/- 
ehrinii^\  as  tho  simile  of  tho  fulness  of  life  of  the 

Metaphys-    universal   One).     Hence   nietapJu/sics  icds    trans- 

ics  '1  ItlllS-  '  ^        "^ 

for  tiled  for  him  info  ethics.  Through  the  feeling 
of  rt^sponsihility,  God  (the  sununum  esse)  ap])eared 
to  him  as  the  summnm  honnm;  and  tho  selfish,  in- 
dividual life,  which  determines  the  will,  a^  the  evil. 
This  summuni  bonum  is  not  only  the  constant  rest- 
ing-place for  tho  restless  thinker,  and  the  intoxicat- 
ing joy  of  life  for  the  life-loving  mortal,  but  it  is  also 
an  expression  for  the  shall-be^  for  that  which  shall 
become  the  ruling  fundamental  motive  of  the  will, 
for  that  which  shall  give  to  the  will  its  freedom  and 
therewith  for  the  first  time  its  power  over  the  sphere 
of  the  natural,  for  that  which  shall  free  the  inde- 
structible inclination  of  man  toward  the  good  from 
the  miser  a  necessitas  pecccindi — expression  of  the 


foniii'd 

into 
EthifS. 


( 


DKVKLOrMKNT   OF   DOCTUINK   OF  SIN,  KTC.      .W,) 


KtliicM 

Traiirt- 

foriiiol 

into 


the 


good.  TliUH  fur  him  all  inferonoes  of  the  iiitolloct 
and  all  cudoinoiiistic  wrappings  droppod  from  tho 
conception  of  tho  good  to  tho  ground.  For  this 
lino  of  thought  also  ho  clainiod  general  validity. 

Ihit  still  another  oxperieneo  now  followed  and  it   >1''*'M'I'.v;* 

I-  tcs  and 

Hcorned  all  analysis.  Yonder  (/ikkI  not  oidy  eon- 
fronted  him  as  tho  "shall  ho",  hut  he  felt  himself 
Beized  h}'  it  as  lore  and  lifted  out  of  the  misery  of 
tho  monstrous  contradiction  of  existence.  Accord- 
ingly theconco])tion  of  God  received  an  entirely  new 
meaning:  The  good  which  is  ahlo  to  do  this,  the  Al- 
mighty, is  Person,  is  Love.  The suinnnnn  esse  is  the 
lioly  good  in  Person,  working  upon  the  will  as  al- 
mighty Love.  Mcf  ((})}{ !j,si(><  <(u<l  ethics  a  re  frcois- 
fornted  info  ri'liyioti.  Lvil  is  not  only  pvi ratio 
,siil)sf((nti((('iiiu\t\n}rchnv  not  nmri}  jjri ratio  ' o)iiy 
but  godlessness  [priratio  Dei) ;  the  ontological  defect 
in  the  creature*  existence  and  the  moral  defect  in  tho 
good  is  a  defect  in  the  attitude  of  love  toward  God; 
but  to  possess  God  is  everything,  is  being,  good  being, 
free-will  and  peace.  Henceforth  a  streara  of  Divine 
thought  llowed  forth  freely  from  Augustine.  It  is 
just  as  inhen  itly  natural  to  God  to  be  gratia,  im- 
parting himself  ill  love,  as  tohiicausit  cansatrix  non 
cauaataj  inan  koicerer  lints  f)i/  the  qrace  of  lore.  Man  i>ivr^ 
That  he — embarrassed  by  a  monstrous  existence, 
which  points  back  to  a  serious  fall  into  sin — can  live 
only  by  grace,  may  still  be  ex})lained ;  but  that  the 
grace  of  love  retdly  exists  is  a  transcendent  fact. 
Man   does  not  arrive   at  freedoju  through  indepeu- 


I  ' 


If' 


WHIi, 


i  I 


n ' 


i 


Cind   is  llie 
<Hily  Res. 


TT.'  is 
lV>rsfpD. 


;55()        OUTLINES    Or'   THE    HISTORY    OF   I)0(JMA. 

denco  as  ivgards  (irod,  l)nt  throug'li  dopeudeiico  upon 
him:  Only  that  love  whicli  has  been  bestowed  ui)on 
him  l)y  God  renders  man  blessed  and  good. 

In  the  detailed  deductions  of  Augustine  respecting 
God  and  the  soul  the  notes  of  metaphysics,  ethics 
and  of  the  deepest  Christian  experience  vibrate  with- 
in one  another,  (fod  is  iiie  only  "  rt^s '\  which  may 
be  enjoyed  {fr:(i  =  (ilicni  ret  (diioi'c  inJicterere 
propter  s<>  ips((ni),  other  things  may  oidy  be  used. 
Tliis  sounds  Neo-Platonic,  but  it  is  rrsolved  in  a 
CUu'istian  sense  into  the  thought :  Jidc,  -qw  ct  cdritafe 
colendnni  dejiin.  God  is  Person,  whom  one  can  trust 
above  all  other  things  and  v/hom  one  should  love. 
Tho  fides  (puie  per  dilcetiouciii  opcrtffitr  becomes 
the  :-overeign  expression  of  religion.  The  aesthetically 
grounded  optimism,  the  subtile  doctrine  of  emana- 
tion, the  idea  of  the  sole  agency  of  G(k1  (doctrine  of 
predestination),  the  representation  of  evil  as  the 
"non-existent"  which  limits  the  good,  do  not  indeed 
entirely  disappear,  l)ut  tliey  are  joineil  in  a  peculiar 
manner  with  the  representation  of  God  as  the  C-rea- 
tor  of  mankind  which  lias  through  its  own  fault 
become  a  hkisso  perdih'oitis,  a.nd  of  God  as  the  Re- 
deemer and  ordiiKifor  ]>ecc<ito)'f(iii.  The  striving 
aisM  after  absolute  knowledge  and  the  conception  of 
the  Christian  riligion  in  accordance  with  the  scheme 
Au;:iisiin.-  ,)f  ([j^^  apologisls  (rationalistic)  never  failed  in  Au- 
Aliu'i('>3'st*s\  gustine,  ;nid  the  love  of  God  which  he  felt  was  secure 
to  him  only  uuvler  the  autlioi'ity  of  outward  revelation, 
to  which  he  obediently  submitted;  but  in   his  rCiig- 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      351 


ioiiH  thinking,  in  which  the  appreciation  of  the  im- 
portance of  history  was  indeed  not  so  well  develoj^ed 
as  the  cai)acity  for  psychological  observation,  the 
Christian  spirit  nevertheless  ruled. 

From  his  youth  ui)  Christ  was  the  silent  guiding  Christ  ins 
principle  of  his  soul.  And  the  ai)parently  purely  J'''"^'p'''- 
philosophical  deductions  were  in  many  ways  influ- 
enced by  the  thought  of  him.  All  of  xVugustine's 
attempts  to  break  through  the  iron  plan  of  the  im- 
nmtcibility  of  God,  and  to  discriminate  between  God, 
the  world  and  the  eijo^  are  to  be  explained  by  the 
impression  of  hist  or}'  \\\Km  him,  i.e.  of  Christ.  Thus 
Christ  appeared  to  him,  the  religious  philosopher, 
more  and  more  plainly  as  the  icmj.,  the  potrer  and 
the  author  it  I/.  How  often  did  he  speak  of  revela- 
tion in  general  and  mean  only  him  I  How  often  did 
he  speak  of  Christ  where  his  pr(xlecessors  spoke  of 
revelation  in  general  I  The  si)eculative  re])resenta- 
tion  of  the  idea  ot  the  good  and  of  its  ag(Micy  as  love 
became  a  certaintv  to  him  onlv  through  tlu>  vision  of 
Christ  and  through  the  authoritative  proclamation 
of  the  Church  res|)e('ting  hini.     The  risi(fii  of  C  lirisi     \',V"P  p*" 

i  ^  ■  Christ 

was  a  new  element,  which  he  first  (after  Paul  and  froi'lrV'aui 
Ignatius)  again  introduced.  Just  as  his  doctrine  of 
the  trinity  received  a  new  form  througli  the  convic- 
tion, experienced  through  faith,  of  the  unity  of  God, 
although  he  adopted  the  (»ld  formulas,  so  also  did  his 
Chrlstology,  in  spite  of  all  adlu'rencc  to  tradition 
(rigid  ctmibating  of  Apollinaris),  I'eccivc  a  new  con- 
ent  through  the  preaching  (jf  Ambrose  and  his  own 


I 


;i 


ob'Z 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


experience.  ( I)  In  the  first  place  as  regards  Clirisst 
am/'Tiil^  the  representation  of  his  sublimity  in  his  humility 
"ciirfst.'     was  of  decisive  importance  to  him,  the  actual  veri- 

]\Iedi{eval 

Key-note,  tying  of  tlio  sentcuce,  onnie  bcniiun  in  Inuniiitale 
jjcrjicitur  (the  incarnation  also  he  represented  from 
this  point  of  view) ;  iji  this  he  began  to  strike  the 
media3val  key-notes  of  Christology,  {'-l)  He  laid  the 
whole  stress  upon  the  possibility  now  won,  that  man,^ 
lying  in  the  dust,  can  apprehend  God  since  he  has 
come  near  us  in  our  lowliness  (the  Greek  waits  for 
an  exaltation  to  be  able  to  grasp  God  in  Christ),  (3) 
He  construed  not  infrequently  the  personality  of 
Christ  also  from  the  human  soul  of  the  Redeemer 
and  he  saw  in  the  endowments  of  the  same  the  great 
example  of  the  gratia praere)iiens,  which  made  the 
man  Jesus  what  he  became,  (4)  He  conceived  the  man 
Jesus  as  Mediator,  as  Sacrifice  and  Priest,  through 
whom  w^e  have  been  reconciled  to  the  Deity  and  re- 
deemed, whose  death,  as  the  Church  i)roclaims  it,  is 
the  surest  foundation  of  our  faith  in  redemption.  In 
all  these  respects  Augustine  introduced  new  ideas 
into  the  old  dogma,  jcjining  them  thereto  indeed  only 
insecurely  and  artificially.  A  new  Christological 
formula  he  did  not  create;  to  him  Chi'ist  became  the 
rock  of  faith,  since  he  knew  that  the  influence  of 
this  Person  had  broken  his  pride  and  given  him 
strength  to  believe  in  the  love  of  God  and  to  let  him- 
self be  found  by  it.  Tlie  living  Christ  is  the  truth, 
and  he  who  is  proclaimed  by  the  Church,  is  the  way 
and  the  authority. 


.lesus  Mt.'- 

(liator, 

Saci'iflc't\ 

and  Priest. 


^M 


'l\ 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DOC'TKTNE   OV   SIX,  ETC 


353 


Ln 

as 

l-al 
le 


The  soul  is  giii(l<'(l  hy  iho  f/f far  j^cr  (h'lectimio))  vitaBeuta 
operatiw  unto  the  vita  bectta.  This  is  the  blessed 
peace  in  the  vision  of  God,  Therefore  hiu>irlv(hie 
still  remains  the  aim  of  man.  It  is  not  tl)(>  will  that 
holds  the  primacy,  but  the  intellect.  Finally  Augus- 
tine retained  the  vuk'.ar  Catholic  form  of  thought 
which  confines  man  in  the  hereafter  to  an  adoring 
knowledge;  in  this  life  asceticism  and  contemplation 
answers  to  it  (lience  Augustine's  defence  of  monas- 
ticism  as  against  Jovinian).  The  kingdom  of  God, 
so  far  as  it  is  earthly,  is  also  i)erislial)U\  The  soul 
must  be  freed  from  the  world  of  appearances,  of  sim- 
ilitudes and  compulsory  conduct.  Nevertheless  Au- 
gustine exerted  indirectly  a  powerful  influence  upon 
the  current  eschatological  ideas:   (1)  Virtue  is  not     i>«'i«'n'i- 

"  ^    '  ciict'  upon 

the  highest  good,  but  dependence  upon  God  (in  the  '^"'^" 
representation   of    the  decisive   significance  of  the 
nievifa  thi^  point  of  view  was  indeed  aband(nied), 

{'I)  The  priestly  ascetic  life  should  be  a   spivitnal  ^•('^"'.J.yf^ 

one;  the  magico-physical  elements  of   Greek   niys-  ^""^"' 

ticism  recede  entirely  (no  cultus  mysticism),  (3)  In  ir.irii.rtu 

alisiii  |)is- 

the  tlKuight,  ^'  ))n'hi  adhaercve  deo  bonuiii  c.s7  ",  in- 
tellectualism  was  broken  down ;  the  will  received  its 
due  position,  (4)  Love  remains  even  the  same  in  eter- 
nity as  that  which  we  possess  in  this  life;  therefort; 
this  world  and  the  other  are  still  closel}'  united,  (.")) 
If  love  remains  also  in  the  othe  •  world,  then  intellec- 
tualism  reappears  in  a  modihed  form,  (<">)  Xot  the    Krci.>sias- 

ticisin 

earthly  life,   but  the  earthly  Church   has  a  higher 

meaning;  the  latter  is,  so  to  speak,  the  holy  alxjve 
33 


foiinti'il. 


Lnvi» 

Alii'lcs. 


Moilifii'd 

Int.'ll.'ctu- 

alisui. 


'   'M 


\ 


.'354        OUTLINES   OK   TIIK    HISTOKV    OF   I^vMJMA 


Fides, 

Spt's.  Cari- 

tas. 


all  that  is  most  holy,  and  it  is  a  duty  to  build  it  up; 
not  a  roligicjii  of  ;i  second  order  supersedes  the  relig- 
ion, but  ecclesiasticisni,  the  service  of  the  Church  as 
a  moral  agency  iov  reforming  society,  as  an  organism 
of  the  sacramental  powers  of  love,  of  the  good  and  of 
the  right  in  which  Christ  works,  (7)  Higher  than 
all  monasticism  stand  .//V/e6',  .spe.s*  and  caritas;  hence 
the  scheme  of  a  dreary  and  egotistical  contemplation 
is  bn)ken.  To  be  sure,  Augustine  succeeded  in  unit- 
ing in  all  directi<jns,  although  indeed  with  contradic- 
tions, the  new  linos  of  thought  with  the  old. 


2.  The  Donatist  Contest.  The  Work,  "  Z)e  Civi- 
fate  Dei.''  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church  cindof 
the  3Iea)is  of  Grace. 

Renter,  a.  a.  O.  Reinkiiis,  Gesch.  j)li!'.  d.  h.  Anp..  \'^W). 
Giiizel,  L.  Aug.  v.  d.  Kirclie  in  d.  Tiib.  Tlieol.  Quartalschr. , 
1849.  Kostlin,  D.  Kathol.  AutfasH.  v.  d.  K.  in  d.  deutsclien 
Ztschr.  f.  christl.  Wissenscli..  IS.m  Nr.  1!.  Selnnidt,  Au<;. 's 
Lehre  V.  d.  K.  ind.  Yahrbl).  f.  deiitsclie  Tlieol.,  18(51.  Seeberg, 
B(>i;TilT  d.  christl.  K.  I.  Th.,  188.~).  Ribbeck,  Donatus  u. 
Aug.,  1888. 

Autrustino        In  the  contest  with  ]\tanichffiisn>   and   Donatism 

Adopts 

iSn'neof  Augustinc,  followiug  Oi)tatus,  formulated  his  doc- 
church.  trine  of  the  Church  upon  the  basis  of  Cyprian's  con- 
cept!'u^,  excluding,  iiowever,  the  J.)oi.aiistic elements 
of  Cypi-rtii  and  moderating  the  hierarchical.  In 
describing  tite  Chiirch  as  aitthoritij,  as  an  indestruc- 
til)l  i  list  /hit  >'>ii  of  srdra'ion,  he  believed  that  he 
was  ii'civly  dt>"i  !i[)i]iga  di .  iiK^ly  produced  verit}'';  in 
I'eprc.iMitli'.g  ii   i!~   ■(>  .niii.no  sanctonnn,  he  followed 


'ij 


u. 


In 

iic- 

lio 

in 


I)P:VK[.0I'MENT    of    I)0(TR.\E   of   sin,  etc.       o'ib 

his  own  religious  experience.  h\  the  former  lie  op- 
posed the  critical  "subjectivism  "  (*f  the  Maniclupans 
and  the  puritanism  of  the  Donatists  who  desired  to 
make  the  truth  of  tlie  Church  dependent  upon  the 
purity  of  the  priests;  in  the  latter  he  used  nis 
doctrine  of  salvjition  in  defining  his  conception  of 
the  Church.  CN)nii)licated  views  were  the  conse- 
quence. Not  only  does  the  Chiuvh  ap])ear,  now  as 
the  goal  (^f  religion,  now  as  the  way  to  the  goal,  hut 
the  conception  itself  hecornes  a  complexity  of  divers 
conceptions.  Finally  the  doctrine  of  pnMlestination 
presented  itself  to  him  as  out-and-out  (|uestional>le. 

I.      1.   The  most   imi)ortant    characteristic  of  the    ^'"'fy  "f 

^  Churcli. 

Church  is  its  imif!/  (in  faith,  hope  and  love,  on  tlie 
o?ie  side,  in  Catholicity  on  the  other),  which  the  same 
Spirit  ]n'oduces  that  holds  the  trinity  together;  this  in 
the  midst  of  the  disruption  of  humanity  is  a  proof  of 
the  divineness  of  the  Church.  Since  unit}'  iion-s 
only  from  hire,  the  Church  rests  upon  the  gi)verni  g 
power  of  tlu>  1  i  vine  spirit  of  Lore;  community  of  f;  h 
alone  is  not  entirely  suflicient.  From  this  view  tli'  r'i5 
follows:  Carifif.s  v]iri,st iaiid  )ii.si  iii  inu'((ifeec<  .cs- 
i(ie  uon  ])()tcst  ciisfodiri,  cLsi  hnjtfisiinnn  ei  fidem 
f<  iiediis,  i.e.  II II iff/  (Hill/  c/.s/.s'  ifhcrc  lore  is  and 
lore  oulij  iriiere  uiiitij  is.  The  application  of  this 
pli rase  with  its  conse(piences  declares :  Heretics  not 
only  do  not  belong  to  tlie  Church  (for  they  deny  the 
unity  of  the  faith),  but  schismatics  also  stjitid  .nt- 
side  of  it;  for  their  very  sei)aration  from  thf  unity 
proves  that  they  are  wanting  in  love,    i.e.  in   the 


!l,' 


\^ 


OTTLINKS   OF   THE   IIISTOHY   OF   DOGMA. 


IIolilK'SS  of 

L'luircli. 


operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Therefore  only  the 
one  great  Church  is  the  Cliureh,  and  outside  of  it 
there  can  indeed  exist  faith,  heroic  ileeds,  even 
means  of  salvation,  but  no  salvation. 

•^.  The  second  characteristic  of  the  Church  is  its 
holiiicss.  The  Chcrch  is  holy  as  tlie  |)laco  of  the 
activity  of  Christ  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  as  the 
possessor  of  those  means  which  sanctify  the  indi- 
vidual. That  she  does  not  succeed  with  all,  cannot 
rob  her  of  her  holiness;  even  a  numerical  superiority 
of  the  niali  et  Jii/j)ocrif(ie  doea  not  endanger  this; 
otherwise  one  unhol}'  meml)cr  would  alread}'  ren- 
der her  right  questionable.  The  Church  exorcises 
disciiiline  and  excommunication  not  so  much  to  pre- 
serv(>  her  holiness  as  to  educate.  She  herself  is  al- 
ready secure  against  contamination  with  that  which 
is  unholv,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  she  never  sane- 
tions  it,  and  she  demonstrates  her  holintsss,  since  in 
her  midst,  and  only  within  her,  real  saints  are  be- 
gotten, and  since  she  everywhere  elevates  and  sanc- 
tities the  morals  of  men.  In  the  strict  sense  only 
the  boiii  et  spirituaJcs  belong  to  her,  but  in  a  wider 
sense  the  unb.oly  also,  in  so  far  as  they  are  still  able 
to  be  spiritualized  and  remain  und(^i  the  influence  of 
the  sacraments  ("  t'oso  in  co}itnmeliai)i  in  damn 
del " ;  they  are  not  the  house  of  God,  but "  in  domo  " ; 
the}'  are  not  ''in  confiiinnione  sanctorum"  but 
"  .sacra n) en  toniui  ^').  Thus  the  Church  is  a  "  cor- 
pns  })eriiii.rtuni  ",  and  even  heretics  and  schismatics 
ultimately  belong  to  her,  in  so  far  as  they  have  ap- 


I)KVKI,<)I'.MKNT   OF    DOCTKFNK    oi'    SIN,   K I  ( 


'O 


Lit 


:^s 


propriatcfl  tlic  nuvms  of  i^raco  aiid  iviiiain  under  the 
discipliiit'  of  tlu'  Church.  Uut  the  lidincss  of  the 
Church  iuchidcs  as  its  aim  the  pure  coitnuuHio  sane- 
forum  {connnnnio  Jidch'inn),  and  all  rcli^'ious  predi- 
cates of  the  Church  are  valid  for  this  conuuunion. 

;}.  The  third  characteristic  of  the  Church  is  its  ^'',\';'",';'- 
Cdfholicifn  (universality  as  rcL-ards  space).  This 
furnishes  the  strongest  outward  proof  of  the  truth  of 
the  Church;  for  it  is  a  fact  i)erceptil)U'  to  the  senses 
and  at  th(!  same  time  a  miracle  with  which  the 
Donatists  have  nothing  comparahle.  The  great 
church  at  Carthage  evidences  itself  as  the  true 
Church  by  its  union  with  Rom.e,  with  th(  -hi  Orien- 
tal churches,  and  with  the  churches  of  ihe  whole 
world  (in  oi)i)Osition  the  Donatists  rightly  said: 
"  QiKinium  ad  latins  imnidi  pert incf  jxi tics,  niodi- 
ca  pars  est  'in  compoisafione  tot  ins  nnutdi,  in  (jna 
Jidi's  cJiristi(tNa  noininatur''). 

4.   The  fourth  characteristic    is  its   apostolii  Hil    ApostoUL-- 

-*  ''  ity  of 

which  manifests  itself,  (1)  in  the  i)ossession  of  the  <^'''"''^"'»- 
apostolical  writings  and  doctrines,  ('.*)  in  theahilit3'of 
the  Church  to  trace  back  its  existence  as  far  as  the 
apostolical  churches  by  the  line  of  episcopal  succes- 
sion (this  point  Cyprian  em})hasized  more  strongly). 
Among  these  churches  the  Roman  is  tlie  most  im- 
portant on  account  of  its  first  bisho]),  Peter,  He  is 
the  representative  of  the  apostles,  of  the  Church,  of 
weak  Christians  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  function  of 
the  bishops.  The  old  theory  that  it  is  necessary  to 
be  in  union  with  the  sedcs  apostolica  and  cat  lied  ra 


!    i| 


iJH, 


P        ' 


I 


I 


■|, 


Inralliliil- 

ity  uf 
Church. 


3JS       ULTMNI'IS    OK    TIHO    HI^^TOItV    OF    1>(>(;.MA. 

Petri,  August  inc  rctaiiKHl ;  but  as  roganls  Ww  inftil- 
liltility  of  the  lloniau  stv,  ho  ex'})i'o.ss('(l  liimscU'  just 
as  unduciilcdly  and  contradictorily  as  in  regard  to 
tlio  councils  and  the  episcopate  (naturally  t(v  him  a 
coiuicil  stood  higher  than  the  Konian  hishoji). 

5.  The  iHjdUihilif!/  of  the  Church  Augustine  con- 
sidered as  linnly  established;  but  he  was  able  to  re- 
produce the  arguments  for  it  only  as  ri'lalively  sound 
and  sufficient.  In  like  manner  he  was  convinced  of 
the  iudispoisiihloirss  of  the  Cluirch;  l)ut  he  }»ro- 
pounded  ideas  (regarding  the  doctrine  of  pred(>stin- 
atiou  and  the  immutability  of  the  eternal  working 
of  God),  which  annulled  the  same. 

Church  is        (',.   'j'ho  Church  is  the  LiiKidom  of  God  uixm  earth. 

^'' Eur'i'ii '"  As  a  rule  Augustine,  indeed,  in  making  use  of  this 
conception  had  no  reference  t(j  the  Church,  but  to  the 
entire  result  of  l.ho  work  of  Cod  in  the  world,  in  con- 
trast with  the  woi'k  of  ti\e  devil.  But  whenever  he 
identities  Church  and  kingdom  of  Cod,  he  means 
by  the  former  the  coniiiiniiio  Jidelinni  {corpus 
rcniin).  But  since  there  is  only  one  Church,  he 
could  not  but  consider,  in  a  given  case,  the  corpus 
perm i.vf inn.  also  as  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  since 
with  the  abolition  of  all  apocalyptic  rej)resentations 
he  saw  the  millennimn  now  already  realized  in  the 
Church,  in  contrast  with  the  perishing  evil  state  of 
the  world,  lie  was  driven  almost  involuntaiil}'  to  the 
conse(p.ience  that  the  visible  Church  with  its  ruling 
priests  and  its  regulations  is  the  kingdom  of  God 
(tie  civitcite  dei,  XX.  i.)-i;j).     Thus  the  idea  of  the 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DOCTKINE   OF    SIN,   ETC.       oo'.) 


N'ariuiisly 
Vjcnvi'd. 


kingdom  of  (rod  passes  with  liim  tliroii^i;h  all  staj^cs, 
from  a  historieo-theological  con('»'i)tioii,  wliicli  is 
nontral  as  regards  the  idea  of  the  Cliureh  (the  king- 
dom of  God  is  ill  heaven  and  has  been  organizing  it- 
self sinee  Al)el  upon  tlie  earth  for  heav(Mi),  to  tlic 
Chureh  of  tlie  priests,  but  it  has  its  ci^ntre  in  the  a'- 
clesid  ii»  a  hvciyvnly  "'  coininunio  sanciornnt  in  fcr- 
fis  p<'tT(/rinan,'i^\  Parallel  with  this  conception 
goes  that  otiier  of  the  .sucivlasoi  tli(>  godless  and  re- 
probates (ineUiding  the  demons),  which  tinally  i)asses 
over  into  the  idea  of  the  earthly  kingdom  (the  state) 
as  the  nia(/)iHiii  hitrociinain.  In  oppcjsition  to  this 
communion  originating  in  sin  and  condemned  to  eter- 
nal strife,  stands  in  general  tlu>  state  of  God  as  the 
only  rightful  union  of  men.  But  the  latter  points  of 
this  form  of  .statement  which  <>iids  in  a  real  theocracy 
of  the  Church  and  in  a  condemnation  of  tlie  state,  Au- 
gustine neither  elaborated  nor  especially  emphasized. 
He  had  in  mind  almost  throughout  spiritual  jtowiM-s 
and  spiritual  strife;  the  })opes  of  the  ]\Liddle  Ages 
first  drew  the  theocratic  consetiuences.     He  also  gave   ^^^\':  s^"''- 

1  ~  ()niiiiat«'ii 

to  his  view  respecting  the  state  the  turn,  that,  siiic«> 
the  jj«,r  (errena  is  a  good  (even  if  a  particular  oni'), 
a  community  (the  state)  wiiich  protects  it  is  also 
good.  But  since  the  jm.r  tcrrcnn  can  be  brought 
about  only  by  justice,  and  inasmuch  as  the  latter  is 
undoubtedly  in  possession  of  the  Church  alone  (be- 
cause as  resting  upon  the  nirilas  it  originates  with 
God),  the  state  can  obtain  a  relativ(>  right  only  by 
submission  to  the  state  of  God,     It  is  clear  that  this 


tu   Cliiurh. 


'\ 


3f;0       OUTLINES   <)l<^   TIIK    lUSTOKV    Ol'    IXXJ.MA. 


Word  ami 
Sacrauu'iit . 


viow  also,  by  which  Ihu  curlhly  statc^  rccoivoH  a  cor- 
tiiiii  iiulcpciidonco  (bocaiiso  it  has  an  esjK'cial  mis- 
sion), can  he  easily  intnuhicod  into  the  theocratic 
scheme.  Augustine  himself  drew  only  a  few  con- 
sequences, yet  he  drew  these:  That  the  state  must 
serve  the  Church  by  means  of  compulsory  measures 
against  idolahy,  heretics  and  schismatics,  and  that 
the  ('hurch  must  in  general  exercise  an  inlluence 
upon  the  state's  right  of  punishment. 

II.  1.  The  Donatist  contest  also  necessitated  a 
closer  consideration  of  the  sacraments  (vid.  Optatus). 
In  the  first  place,  it  was  the  greatest  advance  that 
Augustine  recognized  the  word  as  a  means  of  grace. 
The  formula,  "  irord  mid  sdcrcunent ",  originated 
with  him,  yes,  he  esteemed  the  "  word  "  so  highly 
that  he  even  called  the  sacrament  '^  rerhiuii  visi- 
hile'\  iirid  with  the  sentence:  ^' ci'edc  of  inandn- 
casti  "  he  opposed  all  working  through  mysteries  and 
ga\  e  to  the  conception  "  sacrament "  so  wide  a  range 
that  every  sensible  sign  with  which  a  redemptive 
word  is  joined  may  be  so  named  {^' arced  if  verb  ion 
ad  elenientum  et  fit  sacrame}itum^').  An  especial 
doctrine  of  the  sacraments  is  not  to  be  drawn  there- 
from; Augustine  indeed  not  seldom  goes  so  far  in 
spiritualization,  that  the  sensible  sign  and  the  aud- 
ible word  need  only  to  bo  considered  as  signa  and 
imago  of  the  invisible  act  accompanying  them  (for- 
giveness of  sin,  spirit  of  love) . 
Baptism         2.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the   sacraments — Au- 

aiul  Lord's  ,  «  ,     .        ,  .  .  , 

Supper,     gustine  has  reference  as  a  rule  m  this  connection  only 


imi^SjS^^l 


DFA'KLOI'MKNT   OK    DOCTUINK   OK   SIN,  K.TC.       'M)] 


Al- 

iiy 


1<)  l»;iptisin  and  tlic  l^ord's  Supper — art' ;iltrr  nil  soine- 
tliing  liii^hor.     Tlu\y  arc  sij^iis,  instituted   l>y  (ind, 
of  a  lii|^hor  object,  with  wliit'li,  hy  virtue  of  tlie  eon- 
stituted  ord«'r  of"  creation,  they  stand  in  a  certain  re- 
hitionship,  andthrou'jjh  theni^ractMs  rejdly  imparted 
to  him  who  makes  use  of  them   (assurance  of    the 
ini. sen' cor  (I  id  Chn'sfi  in  the  sacrament,  hut  on  the 
other  hand,  del  us  nicdicindlis).     This  conununica- 
tion  is  dependent  upori  the  administration  (ohjectiv- 
ity  of   tlie  sacraments),   ])ut  it  is   redemptive   only 
when;   the   spirit   of   love  (the   true   Church)  exists. 
Thereby  arose  the  double  contradiction,  that  the  sac- 
raments are  effective  everywhere  and  vet  only  in  tlu' 
Church,  are  independent  of  men  and  yet  bound  up 
with  the  Church  in  their  redemptiveness.     Au<^nstine 
resolved  this  contradiction  by  discriniinatin<^-  between 
the  cJidi'dcfcr  ^vhU'h  the  sacraments  impart  (stamp- 
ing  it,  as   it  were)  an»l  the  real  comnnmication  of 
grace.      The  sjicraments  "  sancfa  per  sc  ipsd""  can 
be   purloined  from  the  Church  ji'id  yet  retain  their 
efficacy,   but  only  \vithin  the  Church  do  they  tend 
effectiyely  to  salvation   ("'  nou  coiis/dcrdin'mn,  qnis 
det  sed  quid  dcf,^'  but  on  the  other  hand,   "Jidhrrc^^ 
is  not  yet  ^^  ufilifcr  ind)ere''). 

3.   Only  with  ba])tism   (ciiaracter:  Inalienable  re-   i><>i;ti-iii.'of 
lation   to  Clinst   and    his    Church)    and   ordination   '^TuimiV-d.' 
(character:    Inalienable    preparation    to    offer    .  ac- 
rifice  and  to  administer   the  sacraments),  however, 
could  this  view  be  harmonized,  not  indeed  with  the 
Lord's  Supper;  for  in  this  the  res  sdcrdinenti  is  the 


i>>  ' 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


I 


^^.^t!? 


.v^ 


1.0 


■  30 


1^        1^ 

1^    12.2 


-Bi    I 


I.I     ?V-  IIIM 


1.8 


1.25      1.4 

1.6 

^ 

6"     — 

► 

V] 


<^ 


c» 


^ 


/i 


e. 


e. 


%%^ 


'^  ^> 


v: 


^ 


vV^ 


/!^ 


7 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


.<.W 


iV 


m 


<> 


iN^ 


...  * 


». 


o'^ 


'^f- 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14S80 

(716)  872-4503 


' 


> 


I 


f;  i 


! 


■•SI  .i  h- 


Idea  of  tlie 

Clmrcli  a 

Colli  ust'd 

Pk'tiiif. 


Mrl       (tl'TMNKS    <)'•'    I  UK    IIISTOKV    OK    |)()f;MA. 

iiivisil)l«'  iiic<»rj)<)ra1i(>!i  into  the  hotly  of  Clirist  (con- 
('cniiiij^llKi  (elements  Au^iistiiic  taui;ht  syin])oli('ally), 
and  tli(^  Lord's  Supper  is  the  sdcrijiciuni  (■((rif((ffs; 
thtu'olore  the  Catholic  Church  was  (>vcr  allied 
with  the  Lord's  Sup{)er  {sttcrniui'ttfinii  uiiifdfis) 
and  there  could  exist  no  "character",  which  was  in- 
<lependent  of  this  Church.  Augustine  glided  over 
this  dilliculty.  His  general  doctrine  of  the  sacra- 
ments was  obtained  from  l)ai)tism,  and  he  discrim- 
inated therein  thus  artificially,  in  ordi'r  that  he 
might,  (1)  place  the  Donatists  in  the  wrong,  {'!) 
maintain  the  characteristic  of  the  sanctity  of  the 
Church,  {'.))  give  to  faith  a  firm  support,  u})on  which 
it  could  rely — inde]iendent  of  men.  Afterward  the 
discrimination  was  made  the  most  of,  es])ecially  in 
the  hierarchical  sense.  But  Augustine's  emphasis 
upon  the  "word"  and  his  spiritualism  have  given 
sinudtaneously  offence  in  ant)tlier  direction  {fo  Lu- 
ther (hid  fo  fhc  rrd-lh'fonncrs). 


Augustine's  ideas  in  regard  to  the  Church  are  full 
of  contradictions.  The  true  Church  should  also  be 
visible,  and  yet  to  the  visible  Church  belongs  also 
evil  men  and  hj^pocrites,  nay  even  heretics.  The  e.v- 
tvrnn  societas  sacramenfonoii,  which  iHConiinuuio 
fkleliuin  et  sdnctoi'iini  and  finally  also  the  nnme- 
rus  praedefitinatonnn  are  one  and  the  same  Church ! 
The  "  in  ecclesia  esse  "  has  in  trnth  a  triple  sense. 
"In  eeelesia"  are  only  the  ijrdedestinafi,  including 


I)KVKI,<>l'Mi:N'r   OK    IK)(  IIJINK   OK   SIN,  K'Yr.      :\^V.\ 

tliost'  still  imcoiivciicd  ;  "' ///  ccilisitt  "  mic  the  Ix'- 
lievers,  iiicludiiiL;' those  who  will  rrlapse;  "  in  ccclc- 
sta"  arc  all  those  who  have  part  in  the  sacraments! 
The  C'hureh  is  properly  in  heaven  nnd  yet  visible  ;is 
cirifiis  u\H)U  earth  I  It  is  from  the  lu^jj^inninu' and 
yet  tirst  institntcd  by  Christ  I  It  is  I'onmU-d  upon 
j)redestination,  n<rt  npon  faith,  lov(  ,  hope,  nornpon 
the  sacraments!  l^»nt  while  taking  account  of  these 
divers  importan*  ]K)ints  whicli  arc  contradictory  if 
there  is  to  })e  oidy  one  Church,  onc^  must  not  forget 
that  Augustine  lived  as  an  huml'le  Christian  with 
the  thought  tlwit  the  Church  is  the  coninniiiin  Jidc- 
linin  cf  suncioruhi^  that  faith,  ho))e  and  love  are  its 
foundation,  and  that  it  "  in  fern's  shd  per  rciiii.ssio- 
nent  jx'ccdforinn  in  cdrihifc''  The  pnulestinarian 
idea  of  the  Churcli  (in  realit}'  the  dissolution  of  the 
C*hurch)  l)elongs  to  the  theologian  and  the  theoso- 
phist,  the  empirical  idea  to  the  Catholic  })olemic.  It 
is  not  to  1)0  overlooked  also,  that  Augustine  first 
rescued  the  sacraments  from  the  magical  as])ect 
under  which  they  win-e  to  counterbalance  a  moralistic 
mode  of  thinking,  and  coiu'dinatt'd  and  subordinated 
them  to  faith.  Ho  first  rendered  the  doctrine  of  the 
sacraments  reformable. 

3.   The  P('l<i(/i((n  Contest.     Doeivine  of  (rntee  (Did 

of  Silt. 

Renter,  a.  a.  ().  Jacohi,  Leliif  d.  I'daKius.  1S4'1  Worter, 
Der  Pelagianisnuis,  isCiO.  Klascii,  l)ii'  imieic  Hntw.  »l. 
Pelugianisinus,   1M82.     Wig;;eis.    Aii.i^nstini.sinuii    and    IVla- 


t        ! 


ri'it 


n 


.'JO-t       (trTLINKS    OF   THE    IIISTOlM'    OF    POCMA. 

Kiaiiisimis,  2  Bdd.,  ls;;i  f.  |)i(..kli,,ir.  A.'s  I>«'liro  v.  d. 
(Jna(l«'  (M<'ckl.  Tlu'(>l.  Ztschr. ,  I. ,  ISdO;.  Lullianlt,  L.  v.  fr. 
Willon.   is(i:j. 


l)o<-trint'  of 

Kill  uuil 

Uraff. 


i^ 


I ! 


Pelajjiaii- 
isni  is  Ka- 
tionalistic 
Monasti- 
I'isiii  and 
Reileiiip- 
tiou. 


Aupjustino  had  not  formulatcMl  liis  doctrino  rejj^ard- 
ing  gracc^  and  sin  wlicn  ho  permitted  liimself  to  l)i' 
Ijaptized  into  the  Catholic  Cluirch  (see  his  anti- 
Maniehiean  \vritinf:fs),  however  he  had  done  so  be- 
fore he  entered  into  tlie  Pelagian  contest.  Pelagins 
also  did  not  formulate  his  doctrine  first  during  the 
contest,  but  he  held  it  when  he  took  offence  at 
the  Augustinian  expression,  ""  (hi  quod  jnhes  ct 
jube  quod  ris'\  The  two  great  modes  of  thought 
— whether  grace  is  to  be  reduced  to  nature  or  whether 
it  sets  nature  free — rose  in  arms  against  each  other. 
The  Occident,  prepared  through  Ambrose,  accepted 
Augustinianism  with  incredible  alacrity.  Augus- 
tine, the  religious  man  and  the  virtuoso,  encountered 
in  Pelagius  an  earnest  ascetic  monk,  in  Cailestius  a 
eunuch,  in  Julian  a  gay  man  of  the  world  who  was 
also  a  resolute,  determined  rationalist  and  an  inexor- 
able dialectician. 

Pelagianism  is  Christian  rationalism,  consistently 
developtMl  under  the  imluence  of  Hellenic  monas- 
ticism;  it  is  stoic  and  Aristotelian  popularized  Occi- 
dental philosophy,  which  made  the  attempt  to  subor- 
dinate to  itself  the  traditional  doctrine  of  redemption. 
The  influence  of  the  Antiochian  theology  can  be 
shown.  The  sources  are  the  writings  and  letters  of 
Cailestius,  Pelagius  and  Julian  (mostly  in  Augustine 
and  Jerome),  the  works  of  Augustine,  Jerome,  Oro- 


Jl 


DEVELOPMKNT  OV    Dot'TIMNK  OK  SIN,  ETC.   3(55 

Bius,  Mariiis  MiTCfitoi',  tin*  \>i\\>i\\  letters  and  synodal 
decrees.  Pelagius  iiiinsclt'  was  more  cautious,  less 
aggressive  and  less  truthful  than  C'a'lestius  and 
Julian.  The  latter  iirst  completed  tlu^  doctrine 
(without  him,  Augustine  says,  "  rvhujiitni  <l<u/in((- 
tt\s  nuichimi  siitc  (ucliihrht  nm'.ssario  rcDKUisis- 
set").  Formally  August inianism  and  Telagianism  KU-m.-nts 
arc  herein  related  and  opposed  to  the  previous  mode  of  ia//is,',TViii(i 
thought,  (1)  Each  is  founded  upon  tlie  desire  to  unify  '  ism! 
the  religious,  ethical  knowledge,  (•.')  Eacii  expelled 
from  tradition  the  dramatico-eschatological  element, 
{',])  Each  was  not  culto-nn'stically  interested,  but  kei)t 
the  problem  within  the  sphere  of  the  spirit,  and  (4) 
Neither  })uts  the  highest  emphasis  upon  traditiomd 
proof  (Augustine  often  confesses  that  the  proof  is 
difficult  to  deduce  from  the  extant  writings  of  the 
fathers).  Pelagius  was  anxious  to  show  that  in  the 
whole  controversy'  it  was  not  a  (piestion  of  dogma, 
but  a  practical  (piestion;  Augustine  carried  on  tho 
contest  with  the  conviction  that  the  essence  and 
pnver  of  the  Christian  religion  nuist  stand  or  fall 
with  his  doctrine  of  grace;  Cjelestius  was  especially 
int4?rested  in  overthrowing  the  doctrine  of  hereditary 
sin;  Julian  was  consciousl}' defending  the  cause  of 
reason  ;uid  freedom  against  a  "  stupid  and  impious 
dogma"  through  which  the  Church  was  ))eing 
plunged  into  barbarism  and  the  educated  minority 
given  over  to  the  masses  who  do  not  understand 
Aristotle. 

I.  Pelagius  appeared  in  Rome  and  proclaimed  to     '  ilom^. '" 


I    •! 


T 


■ ,  t 


J: 


M 


I 


I. 


II' 


•mi 


1  i 


■'I 


li':' 


S 


Ijiilh 


I  i :  21^  a}  ■       I 


3GG       OLTLINKS    OK   THIO    HISTOKY    OK    DOUMA. 

tho  cominoii  C'liristiaiiH  monasticisin  niul  tlio  ability 
of  every  man  tn  rise  in  his  own  strength  unto  virtue, 
avoided  tlieoloi^ical  iMilcniics  l)ut  eontended  against 
the  (luictisni  of  llic  Au^^iistiniaii  confessions.  His 
<>i.stius    Jl, ,1)1. 121  friend  CieN'stius  seconded  him.     Both  went 

Si '('I  Mills 

T.M.'miiK.  to  Nortli  /vfrica,  from  which  Pelagius  liowevor  soon 
(li'partcd.  (*;elt'stius  aji])licd  at  Cai'thage  for  a  })res- 
byter's  ofhcc.  }>ut  he  was  complained  of  (-tl'^'or  11 1) 
by  tho  Milanese  deacon,  l^mlinus,  at  a  synod  at 
Carthage,  because  he  considered  mortality  as  some- 
thing natural  (to  Adam  and  to  all  men),  denied  the 
universal  c()ns(>  |uences  of  Adam's  sin,  tauglit  the 
perfect  innocence  of  the  new-born  babe,  esteemed  the 
benefit  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  not  necessarily 
attril)ut:d)le  to  all,  misunderstood  the  difference  be- 
tween law  and  gospel,  si)oke  of  sinless  men  befon' 
the  api)ear[ince  of  Christ  and  thought  in  general 
superficiall}'  of  sinlessness  and  the  fullilment  of  tho 
commandments  of  Christ,  if  only  one  has  good  in- 
tentions. In  spite  of  his  assertion  that  he  acknowl- 
edged the  baptism  of  children  (but  not  unto  tiie  for- 
giveness of  sin)  and  was  therefore  orthodox,  he  was 

cii. stills    (»xconununicated.     He  went  to  E})hesus and  Constan- 

l-Acnin- 

nuiiiicat.Hi.  tii>,)j)le.  Pi>lagius  was  in  Palestine  and  sought  to 
maintain  peace  with  Augustine  and  Jerome.  His 
keen  friend  with  his  polemic  against  the  tnulux pec- 
cnti iiw^X  the  baptism  of  infants  ///  rcniissi())ic))t  pvc- 
cdtonnu  was  uncongenial  to  him;  more  valuable  were 
his  more  recent  friends  in  the  Orient,  especially  John 
of  Jerusalem.     He  and  others  pronounced  him  in- 


I 


^  ;<  i)y 


M      ' 


DEVKLOr.MKNT    OT    DOCTHINK    OK    SIN,   KT< 


ijor 


nocent   (at  the   svnods  at  JcrusaU'in  and    Diospolis     '■'' ''','-'I'''i 

\  ^  I  I  M't    III!  *  tl 

415),  vvliil'.'  the  Augustiiiiaii  disciples,  Orosius  and  aisvi'i.'M'i'.i 
Jerome,  accused  linn  ot  niisundiTstanding  the  Divme  n:.. 
{^race.  Butoidy  with  a  mental  reservation  did  IVla- 
gius  «^ive  u])  the  incriminating  tenets  of  Cielestius, 
which  accord inj^ly  remained  condemned  in  the  Orient 
also.  In  his  literary  labors  he  became  sim[)ly  more 
cautious,  but  did  not  give  in.  The  Nortli  African 
churclies  (synods  of  Carthage  and  ]\Iileve,  IIH)  as 
well  as  Augustine  a]i|)li(>d  to  Iimocent  I.  in  Home  for  iimonnt  i 
the  condemnation  of  the  two  luM'etics.  The  pope, 
glad  t:)  have  been  a))]»roaclied  by  North  Africa,  com- 
plied (417),  yet  kei)t  a,  pathway  of  retreat  oi>en  for 
liimself.  Altiiough  Zosinuis,  his  successor,  induced  Zosi'ims. 
through  a  cunning  confession  of  faith  by  Pelagins 
and  won  over  by  Cfrlcstius  who  now  also  grew  more 
cautious,  reinstated  them  and  at  first  remained  deaf 
to  the  representations  of  the  North  Africans;  yet  a 
general  synod  at  Carthage  (I  1m)  and  an  imperial 
edict,  which  expelled  both  heretics  with  their  fol- 
lowers from  Rome,  made  an  impression  also  upon  the 
pope,  who  in  an  cplsfuJn  fracforid  assented  to  the 
condemnation  and  recpiired  tiie  Occidental  bisho])S 
to  sign  the  same  (I  IS).  Still  this  imputation  strength- 
ened the  o])position  pai'ty.  Eighteen  bishops  de- 
clined.    Their  leader  was  Julian  of  Eklanum.     This    ;'.''''""  "^ 

I'.klamiin. 

Jurenis  conJhU'ntissiiiius  now  took  up  his  sharp 
})en.  He  wrote  daring  letters  to  Zosinuis  and  Rufiis 
of  Thessalonica,  which  Augustine  answered  (I'io). 
Therewith  began  a  ten  years'  literary  feud  between 


■■'  I 


1' ,  I 


J 


I  If 


i'l  I 


w 


Wit  • 


i 


5 


m 


;ti« 


■.*■ 


ri  v: 


'  ■  ( 


li  !  ' 


3f;S       OL'TLINKS   OF    TMK    IIISTOKV    OF    I)0(;.MA. 

tli(*  two  (fnij^nuMits  of  llic  Julian  writings  in  Anrf. 
(Ic  nnpfiis  el  concnpi.sc.,  lihri  scv  c.  Jul.  and  opus 
i'niprrf.  r.  Jul.).  During  the  same  Au^aistino  was 
often  (IriviMi  into  a  close'  corner  by  Julian;  but  tlio 
feud  took  place  />o.s7  Jest  Kin:  Auj^ustino  wa.s  already 
victor;  Julian  wrote  like  one  wlio  lias  notliin^'  nioro 
to  lose.  Hi>  evolved  tberefore  iiis  natundisni  and 
moralisiM  out  of  his  n>yal  reason  willi  threat  license, 
casting  aside  all  monkery,  yet  without  any  compre- 
hension of  the  needs  and  right  of  n  ligion.  He  was 
tinally  forced  to  flee  with  hi's  com})anions  into  the 
Orient  .and  he  there  found  protection  with  Theodore 
^'ro.v"''  of  Mopsuestia.  The  Ephesian  council,  i'.c.  Cyril, 
(vmmii  of  '^itl  the  Roman  bishop  the  favor  of  condemning  tho 
431.  '  Pelagians  (431).  In  the  Orient  men  had  no  compre- 
licnsion  of  the  contest ;  indeed  at  the  bottom  they  were 
inclined  toward  Pelagianism  as  regards  the  freedom 
of  the  will ;  but  in  the  Occident  also  men  were  agreed 
only  on  the  points,  that  every  baptism  is  in  rem  is- 
.sionein  peccatonim,  that  there  exists  since  the  fall 
of  Adam  a  iradu.v  peceata  which  delivers  the  chil- 
dren (^f  Adam  over  to  death  and  condemnation,  and 
that  the  grace  of  God  as  a  power  for  good  is  neces- 
sary imto  the  salvation  of  every  man. 

II.  Pelagius  cared  nothing  for  new  dogmas  and  a 
system ;  Julian's  stoical  system  with  its  Aristotelian 
dialectics,  Christian  etiquette  and  tendency  toward 
naturalism  belongs  to  the  history  of  theology.  Yet 
it  is  im}K)rtant  to  note  the  principles  of  the  Pelagian 
doctrine ;  for  it  has  made  its  appearance  in  a  subtle 


Doctrines. 


-ijl    :: 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.      3G9 


i* 


id  a 
ian 
ird 

et 
ian 

tie 


form  a^ain  and  a^aiii.  Tho  monastic  tendency  was 
not  an  essential  thing  with  Pelaj^ins,  hut  suhordinato 
to  the  aim  of  the  sixjntaneous  development  of  g<x)d 
character,  and  to  the  ancient  idea  of  moderation. 
Just  on  that  account  one  may  class  IVlagius  and 
Julian  together.  Courageous  faith  in  man's  ahility 
to  do  that  which  is  good,  and  the  want  of  clearness 
of  thought  on  religio-ethical  (luestions  nnite  them. 

Because  there  is  righteonsness,  there  is  a  (Jod. 
God  is  the  kind  Creator  and  the  just  Leader.  Every- 
thing that  he  has  created  is  good,  therefore  also  the 
creature,  the  law  and  free-will.  If  nature  is  good,  it 
is  then  not  convertible;  accordingly  there  can  exist 
no  iwcccita  naturalia,  only  i)eccata  per  accidcus.  ^'^/^jl'j"'" 
Human  nature  can  Ix;  modificated  only  incidentall}'. 
The  most  important  and  best  endcnvment  of  this 
nature  is  free-will  {'^  inofu.s  (Oiinii  cof/oitc  iiullo'")  \ 
reason  is  comprised  within  the  latter.  Both  bring 
it  to  pass  that  man  does  not  live  under  the  condi- 
tio necessitatis  and  does  not  need  help.  It  is  the 
glorious  gratia  prima  of  God,  the  Creator,  that  we 
may  do  both  and  can  do  either.     The  jtossihilitas    i^"ss;h'i'.- 

*'  ^  tus  Hon  I 

honi  comes  from  God,  the  voliodas  and  a(fi<t  is  ^v.',iuntiis ' 
our  concern.  Evil  is  a  momentary,  false  .self-tie-  ours. 
termination  without  consetiuence  to  the  nature, 
originating  in  the  sensuous  faculties.  According  to 
Pelagius  these  are  bad  in  themselves,  but  can  be 
subdued;  according  to  Julian  they  are  not  bad  in 
themselves,  only  so  "  in  excess u'\  Were  it  other- 
wise, then  must  bai)tism  abolish  concupiscence;  and 
34 


H 


irrr  u 


i    [] 


■V 


I 


370       orTF.INES   OF   Tin:    IflSToltY    OF   DOOM  A. 


H   I 


I  --m 


■iV' 


if  concupiHceiico  is  had,  Ihcii  iIk*  Creator  Uod  is  ii«)t 
f^ood.  Man  is  al)l('  to  resist  evei'v  sin,  therefore  ho 
nnist  <h)  so-  there  have  indeed  l>een  sinless  men. 
Aceordinj^  to  Pelaj^ius  everyhody  ptes  to  hdl  who 
acts  contrary  to  Ids  hetter  al)iHiy.  The  attemjil  to 
adjust  these  teacliin^s  to  the  Scriptures  and  ecclesi- 
astieal  tradition  was  fraught  with  dinirulties.  It  was 
admitted  that  A(hini,  en(h)wed  with  freedom  of 
choice,  fell;  yet  natural  death,  sin('(>  it  is  natural, 
was  not  the  consi^fiueuee  of  his  sin,  hut  yj)iritual 
death.  Inasmuch  as  death  has  not  descended  from 
liim,  much  less  has  not  sin;  for  the  acceptance  of  a 
tvddux  pcvcdt i  (orii^inal  sin)  leads  to  the  ahsurd  as- 
sumption of  soul-^(Mieration  and  to  ManichaMsm  (e\  il 
nature),  aholishes  the  Divine  justice,  causes  matri- 
mony to  appear  unholy,  tlierefore  unlawful,  and  de- 
stroys all  possihility  of  {i  nHlemption  (for  how  can  a 
Sin  is  an    redem])tive  messaijre  or  a  law  influence  nature?) .     Sin 

Atrair   cf  ^ 

the  Will,  always  remains  an  affair  of  the  will  and  each  is 
punished  only  for  his  own  sin.  All  men  stand  in 
the  condition  of  Adam  hefore  his  fall  {'"Ifhcttnn 
arhitriinu  cf  post  peccafd  fanf  })/<'iniiii  est  quani 
fuif  ante  pecnifd  ");  onl}'  a  sinful  ha])it  kec^ps  them 
down,  the  power  of  which  is  certainly  to  he  acknowl- 
edfjfcd.  On  that  account  grace  also  must  he  acknowl- 
edged as  afJJnforifun.  According  to  the  degree  of 
convenience,  the  Pelagians  declared  grace  as  simj)ly 
necessary,  as  alleviating,  as  suiHM'fiuous.  Tliey  con- 
sidered it  in  truth  only  a  cMmfortahle  crutch  for 
Christians;  for  the  sentence,  "Jioiim  lihcro  arltilrio 


DKVKLnl'MKNT   oV    IhK'TIJINK   ^)l'    SIN,   KT( 


•.m 


thoni 


t)\V 


[>\V 


•1- 


f 


•CO   (> 


con- 
Ill    for 
tilrio 


ciunuvijKii nn  csl  II  />cf/ '*,  excludes  {^r.'U-c  in  priiici- 
|»Ic.  Tlicro  oxi.sts  mIso  in  truth  only  o//f  j^mcc.  tlic  **o,',','' '" 
cnlij^litonin^,  deterring,  rcwMrd-olVcrin;^  law  •,  hut  <nic 
may  also  distin^iiisli,  ( I)  ci-cational  ^racf  (ciidow- 
ni<'!it),  {•>')  tln'  law  [ilhini i luil in  el  (Inch'iim),  (."•) 
f/rufiu  ])(>)'  Chrisfmn:  (a)  liis  c.\anii>l(\  (h)  tlic  fruit 
of  his  work  applied  hy  haptistn  to  our  hciicfit  as  for- 
giveness of  sin.  On  this  point  the  i'clagiaiis  were 
not  permitted  to  wav(>r;  hut  they  di.-clainied  the 
qratia  pvncroiicns,  did  not  see  in  tiiehapti>ni  of 
infants  a  baptism  ///  rciiiis.sioncnt  p^ccdhtinm  and 
did  not  acknowledi^e  the  ahsolute  necessity  of  for- 
giveness. Children  dyiiij^;  unha|»ti/.ed  are  also  saved, 
hut  are  not  a<]mitted  into  the  rcf/iimn  c(i('lin'ii)ii. 
Th(3  thesis  of  tlie  Pt'laj'ians,  that  Christian  L;raee  is  nra.-..rnn- 
conferred  only  sccnndiim  iiicrihi,  a!)olishes  j^race  "">i,'."ij. '" 
just  as  mneh  as  the  other  thesis,  that  it  works  es- 
sentially in  the  same  maimer  as  the  law.  While 
judging  Auguslinianism,  now  as  an  innovation,  now 
as  Manicha,»ism,  now  as  inward  contradiction,  they 
themselves  brought  forth  the  greatest  contradictions 
(dialectically  concealed),  and  were  innovators  in  so 
far  as  they  really  held  fast  to  the  old  ecclesiastical 
doctrine  of  frecMlom  but  not  to  the  o})j)()site  l>ole,  the 
mystical  doctrine  of  redemi)tion,  and  they  accord- 
ingly sold  religion  to  an  irrational  rationality  and  to 
a  prtjfoundly  immoral  tli(M)rv  of  moi'ality. 

HI.    Augustine  did    not   start    from    the   lihcrnni      Aot'iis 
(irhifrimn,  hut  from  CJod  and  the  soul  which  feels    '"""""- 
its  guilt  in  his  presence  and  yet   has  exi>erienced  his 


'*«n 


372       OLTMNKS   OK   TIIK    IIISTOKV    (H'    I)()(i.MA. 


'    I 


\l   h 

i 


h 


^\••.\('^\  III  siM'kiii^  t(i  <'.i'/iliiin  tlicicfroiii  nnturr,  Iho 
history  nf  the  world  and  tln'  history  ol'  thf  individual, 
ho  fell  into  many  contradictions  and  into  assnniptions 
too  easily  ^ainsai<l.  Hut  there  are  theses  wliicii  are, 
outwardly  considered,  entirely  untrue,  hut,  inwardly 
considered,  true.  'IMuis  is  Auj^ustine's  doctrine  of 
gract?  ;nid  sin  to  he  jud^(Ml.  As  an  expression  of 
psycholojjjical  religious  (>xperienc{^  it  is  true;  hut 
projected  into  history  it  is  false.  Besides  it  is  in 
itself  also  not  consistent ;  for  it  is  dominated  hy  tho 
thought  that  "God  in  Chri.st  creates  faith  ",  iw  well 
as  hy  tho  other  thought  that  "  God  is  the  only  Causal- 
ity ",  and  these  are  brought  only  seemingly  into  con- 
sonance hy  the  definition  of  grace  as  (jnitis  (httd. 
^il'!.'.'."l\?»!J"  Besides  Manicluean  elements  are  visihle;  th(5  letter 
of  Scripture  (generally  misunderstood)  had  also  an 
obscuring  effect,  and  the  religious  view  is  accom- 
panied by  a  moralistic  {merita)  which  finally 
mjikes  the  decision. 

Humanity  is,  according  to  experience,  a  massa 
peccati,  i.e.  void  of  God;  but  the  God-man,  Christ, 
— ho  alone — by  his  death  brought  the  i)owcr  to  re- 
plenish emi)ty  humanity  with  Divino  love:  that 
is  tho  (jrafia  (jrafi.s  data,  the  beginning,  middle 
and  end  of  our  salvation.  Its  aim  is  that  out  of  the 
massa  perditionis  there  shall  bo  saved  a  cerius  nii- 
merns  electorum.  Such  will  be  saved  because  God 
has  predestined  (Augustine  is  an  infra-lapsarian), 
elected,  called,  justified,  sanctified  and  preserved 
them  by  virtuo  of  his  eternal  decree.     This  takes 


(iialia 
(Srutis 
JJata. 


;:#lilii 


assa 
irist, 
3  re- 
that 
ddlo 
the 
Hit- 
God 


ll'tl-Nistilll- 


DKVKLOJ'MKNT   (>K    IKJCTIMNK   ol'   HlN,   KTC      :iT:l 

place  ill  th(»  Clmrcli  tliroii^h  i^iacc,  wliicli,  (1)  isftnir-  \\lJ,ll',y,.n. 
venicH.s,  i.i'.  withdraws  man  rnun  iiisroiiditioii  nf  sin 
and  creates  the  good  will  (  ^  rocafio^  hut  this  and 
all  further  acts  of  grace  take  place  in  those  also  wlu> 
finally  an?  not  saved,  hecause  they  are  not  elected), 
(t*)  {•(KtjK'rans — this  is  developi'd  in  a  series  of  gra- 
dations as  far  as  thoentirean<l  actual  regeneration  of 
man,  which  makes  it  j)()ssihle  for  him,  when  tilled 
with  love,  to  earn  nierita.  Out  of  the  lovatit)  UA- 
lows the y/(/f ^;  this  is  gradually  augmented,  since  it 
is  doveloi)ed  upon  the  stages  of  helief,  ohedience, 
fubicia  and  love.  Parallel  with  it  goes  the  actual 
(visihle)  working  of  grace  in  the  Church,  which  he- 
gins  with  the  vemissio  peccatonim^  i.e.  witii  hap- 
tism,  which  removes  the  redtusoi  hereditary  sin  and 
blots  out  past  sins.  It  terminates  in  ilm  J it.siijicatio, 
which  is  not  a  judgment  upon  the  sinner,  but  the 
comi)leting  of  the  process  by  virtue  of  which  he  has 
actually  passed  from  an  impious  to  a  just  state. 
This  takes  phice  through  the  infusion  of  the  spirit  of 
love  into  the  heart  of  the  believer  (and  through  the 
Lord's  Supper),  whereby,  admitted  into  the  unity  of 
the  conmiunion  with  Christ  (Church),  ho  receives 
as  sanctus  and  ,s])irifalt's  a  new  disj)osition  and 
desire  {'^ mihi  adhaerere  deo  bonum  est^')  and  now 
has  the  capacity  for  good  works  {''fides  impt'trat, 
quod  lex  imperat^').  Justification  depends  upon  Justiflca- 
i\\Q  fides  and  is  sub  specie  aeternitatis  a  concluded  \^^]'^i^ 
act;  empirically  considered,  it  is  a  process  never  ''*^*" 
completed  in  this  world.     The  being  filled  with  faith, 


;  i 


t!«l 


lit 


11)  > 


I. 


t>  ■ 


r.n.   Fall 
und  Origin- 
al State. 

Privatio 
Boni. 


1,1 


374       OUTLINES    OK   TIIK    HISTOKV    OF    THXiMA. 

liopi',  and  love  is  ovidonccd  ))y  tlic  dcinonstration  of 
love  and  by  withdrawal  from  the  world  (asceticism). 
This  is  in  turn  evidenced  in  good  works,  which  now 
iiave  merit  before  God  {incrita),  although  they  are 
his  gifts  since  they  are  begotten  of  his  grace.  Not  to 
every  one  are  perfect  works  granted  {roiisilid  cran- 
(/clic(t) ;  but  eveiy  justified  person  has  works  of  faith, 
1.  )pe  and  love,  (o)  the  highest  and  best  gift  of  the 
(jtdtia  is  iliQ  pcr.Hevcvdntia  which  is  irrcsi.stihilis  in 
the  elect.  The  vocati  {ct  sciiiciijUaii  ?)  who  do  not 
have  this  will  be  lost.  Wh}-  some  only  receive  it, 
since  it  is  not  bestowed  secdndnnt  lucrifa,  is  God's 
mystery.  But  certain  is  it — in  spite  <jf  predestina- 
tion and  sovereign  grace — thnt  at  the  final  judgment 
not  the  "  adliaerere  Dei  "  but  the  monil  Jmbitus  will 
be  decisive.  He  only  who  can  show  nierita  (but 
such  are  Dei  munera)  w^ill  be  saved.  The  signifi- 
cance of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  {uid  of  faith  is  how- 
ev<  r  misconceived.  Augustine's  thesis  is :  "  Where 
love  is,  there  also  is  bliss  corresponding  to  the  mea- 
sure of  love". 

On  this  basis  Augustine  formed  his  doctrine  con- 
cerning sin,  the  fall  and  the  original  state.  Sin  is 
privatio  honi  (lack  of  being  and  of  true  being), 
turning  of  man  unto  himself  (pride)  and  concu- 
piscence (sensualit}^) :  "  misera  nccessitas  von  posse 
71011  peccancW",  although  formal  freedom  exists — 
dominion  of  the  devil  (therefore  redemption  from 
without  is  necessary).  Augustine  desires  to  retain 
the  "(f/y^or  6u/"  as  the  principal  conception  of  sin, 


i'- 


DEVELOI'MENT   OF    DOCTUINK   OF   SIN,  ETC.       '<\75 


(but 


Natura 
Vitiutti. 


Tradux 
P»Hrcati ; 
Vitiam 


but  \u  ivality  lu'  lauks  concnpiscoiicp  abovo  it.  Tbo 
latter  niaiiitosts  itsclt  above  all  in  sexual  lust.  Siueo 
this  acts  spontaneously  (independent  of  the  will),  it 
proves,  that  the  nature  is  vitiated  {natiird  titiatd). 
For  that  reason  it  propagates  sin  :  The  act  of  genera- 
tion, consummated  with  lust,  is  a  testimony  that 
humanity  has  become  a  niassd  pevcdti.  Since  Au- 
gustine hesitated  to  teach  traducianism  as  regards 
the  origin  of  the  soul,  the  body — contrary  to  the  orig- 
inal deposition — becomes  the  bearei'  of  sin  which 
infects  the  soul.  The  trdda.v  pvccdti  runs  as  vitidin 
originis  through  humanity.  This  hereditary  sin  is  oVitjinis. 
sin,  punishment  for  sin  and  guilt;  it  destn^ystlie  true 
life  and  surrenders  man  to  the  non  posse  mm  mori 
(unbaptized  children  also — however  ^'  niittissima 
poena  "),  after  it  has  defiled  all  his  acts  {"^  splendida 
vifid  ").  Thus  testify  Scripture,  the  practice  of  the 
Church  (infant  baptism)  and  the  conscience  of  the 
sinner.  Since  Adam  this  hereditary  sin  exists  as 
natura  vitiafa.  His  fall  was  terrible,  a  complexity 
of  all  heinous  sins  (i)ride  and  concupiscence) ;  it  was 
the  more  terrible,  since  Adam  had  not  only  been 
created  good,  but  also  possessed  as  adjutorium  the 
Divine  grace  (for  without  this  there  exists  no  spon- 
taneous goodness) .  This  grace  he  forfeited,  and  so 
great  was  its  loss,  that  "  in  him  "  the  whole  human 
race  was  corrupted  (not  only  because  all  were  that 
Adam,  but  also  because  from  him  the  evil  contagion 
spread),  and  even  baptism  ^snot  able  to  eradicate  he- 
reditary sin  (human  lust),  but  can  only  remove  its 


Race 

Siuned 

iu  Adam. 


<'  ll 


[ 

•  1     I 


;^ri' 


Wm 


''Si^ii 


'  N     '1* 


!;  !^ 


4 


Augus- 
tine's En- 
chiridiou. 


370       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DO(JMA. 

reatiis.  Augustine's  idea  of  the  original  state  ( jJOAse 
nonpeccare  and  adjufoi'iiim)  Hiiuulii  in  flagrant  con- 
tradiction with  his  doctrine  of  grace ;  for  gratia  as  ad- 
jutorium  in  the  original  state  is  the  grace  of  redemp- 
tion, in  so  far  as,  totally  unlike,  it  leaves  the  will  free 
and  really  has  no  effect,  but  is  merely  a  condition  of 
the  free  decision  for  good,  therefore  not  irresisfibilis. 
This  adjnton'um  is  in  truth  conceived  in  a  Pelagian 
way  (his  doctrine  of  the  original  state  and  of  the  stand- 
ard of  the  final  judgment  is  not  compatible  with  his 
doctrine  of  grace)  and  the  natura  vitiata{\yhen  taken 
as  human  lust)  gives  no  longer  a  place  for  holy  mat- 
rimony, and  is  therefore  Manichasan.  But  all  these 
grave  offences  cannot  dim  the  greatness  of  the  truth 
that  God  works  the  "  willing  and  doing  ",  that  we 
possess  nothing  which  we  have  not  received,  and  that 
to  adhere  to  God  is  good  and  our  good. 


4.  Augustine's  Exposition  of  the  Symbol. 
New  Doctrine  of  Religion. 


The 


In  order  to  understand  how  Augustine  transformed 
the  traditional  doctrine  of  religion  (the  dogma) ,  and 
to  know  which  of  his  thoughts  have  passed  into  ec- 
clesiastical possession,  it  is  necessary  to  study  his  ex- 
planations of  the  symbol,  especiall>  his  Enchiridion. 
In  the  first  place  the  common  Catholic  trend  of  his 
teaching  is  here  revealed.  Conformably  with  the  old 
symbol,  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity  and  of  the  double- 
nature  is  explained ;  the  importance  of  the  Catholic 


,f\ 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    DOCTRINE    OK   SIN,  ETC.       377 


^Ifi' 


The 


Bli88. 


Oliurch  is  strictly  maintained.  Baptism  is  placed  in  ^^l^l^^i"l 
the  foreground  as  the  most  important  mystery,  and  >lyst"ry. 
is  referred  back  to  the  death  of  Christ,  by  which  the 
dominion  of  the  devil,  after  he  has  received  his  du(^s, 
is  broken.  Faith  often  appears  as  something  prelim- 
inary; eternal  life  is  granted  only  to  those  meriting 
it;  these  continue  in  works  of  love,  lastly  however 
in  asceticism.  But  all  are  not  obliged  to  live  thus; 
one  must  distinguish  between  man  data  and  con.siiia. 
His  treatment  of  alms  is  broad;  it  constitutes 
penance.  Within  the  Church  there  is  forgiveness 
of  all  sins,  under  the  assumption  of  the  sat isf actio 
congrita.  There  are  degrees  in  sin,  ranging  from  ^yKud°' 
crimes  to  insignificant  every-day  sins;  in  the  same 
manner  there  are  also  degrees  of  good  and  of  bad  men ; 
even  the  best  {sancti^  iJcrfecti)  are  not  free  from  light 
sins.  There  is  a  gradation  of  bliss  (according  to  the 
merita) .  The  departed,  but  not  perfected  good  souls 
are  benefited  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  alms  and 
prayers;  they  are  in  a  purifying  hre  of  punishment. 
The  common,  superstitious  views  were  in  many  ways 
farther  intensified  by  Augustine ;  thus  in  regard  to 
purgatory,  to  the  temp  ^vavy  amelioration  of  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  condemned,  to  the  angels  who  aid  the 
Church  of  this  world,  to  the  completing  by  the  re- 
deemed of  the  heavenly  Church  which  was  deci- 
mated through  the  fall  of  the  angels,  to  the  virginity 
of  Mary  in  partu  and  to  her  singular  purity  and 
conception,  to  the  mild  beginnings  toward  the  calcu- 
lation of  the  value  of  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ, 


Common 
SuixTsti- 

tiuus 
Views  Em- 
phasized. 


h\ 


:)7S       Ol'TLINES   OF  THE   TITSTOHV   OF   DOGMA. 


.^=.iii!. 


f 


New  Elf- 
uieiits  Add- 
ed to 
Church 
Doctrines. 


God  and 
Sin. 


filially — to  Wh)  c'()nc'('})ti()ii  of  salvation  as  cisio  et 
fruifio  Dei,  wliicli  again  and  again  comes  to  the 
surface,  and  to  tlu;  joining  of  the  spiritual  powers  to 
mysteriously  operating  sacraments. 

But,  on  the  other  side,  the  doctrine  of  religion  in 
the  Enchiridion  is  new.  To  the  old  s^'mhol  material 
was  added  which  could  be  united  with  it  only  very 
loosely  and  which  at  the  same  time  modifies  the  orig- 
inal elements.  In  all  three  articles  the  treatment  of 
sin,  forgiveness  of  sin  and  perfection  in  love  is  the 
main  thing  (Ench.  10  seq.  "^5  soq.  41  seq.  04-08). 
Everything  is  represented  as  an  inward  process,  to 
which  the  very  briefly  treated  old  dogmatic  material 
appears  as  subordinate.  Therefore  the  od  article 
is  treated  the  most  explicitly.  Already  in  the  brief 
sketch  the  new  appears :  Everything  depends  upon 
faith,  hope,  love;  so  truly  inward  is  religion  (3-8). 
In  the  1st  article  no  cosmology  is  given;  indeed 
physics  as  the  content  of  dogmatics  is  expressly  put 
aside  (0,  10  seq.).  Hence  the  various  Logos-doctrines 
are  also  all  wanting.  The  trinity,  handed  down  as 
dogma,  is  compressed  into  a  unity :  It  is  the  Creator. 
In  reality  it  is  one  person  (the  persons  are  moments 
in  God  and  have  no  longer  any  cosmological  mean- 
ing) .  Everything  in  religion  is  related  to  God,  as  the 
sole  source  of  all  good,  and  to  sin;  the  latter  is  dis- 
tinguished from  error  Thus  was  a  break  made  with 
the  old  intellectualism.  Whenever  there  is  a  refer- 
ence to  sin,  there  is  also  one  to  the  gratia  gratis 
data,  the  predestining  grace,  which  alone  frees  the 


m 


I)i:vi:l()I'Mi:.\t  ok  doctuink  of  sin,  i/ic. 


"  *  < 


;:> 


shackled  will.  With  a  rcfcTC'iu'c  to  the  inisrn\-<H(l/<( 
pracrcK iciis iind. sHhs('(in<'ii.s  tluu-xposition  oi"  tiic  1st 
article  closes.  How  diU'ereiitly  would  its  words  liave 
sounded,  had  Aui^iistiiie  been  able  to  treat  it  unre- 
strainedly I — In  the  '.M  article  is  touched  (^uite  brietl}' 
that  which  the  symbol  reall}"  contains  (the  return  of 
C*lirist,  without  chiliasm).  But  the  followiuL^  conu? 
to  the  front:  The  unity  of  Christ's  personality  as 
the  homo  with  whose  soul  the  Word  iniited  itself, 
the  predestininj^  grace  which  brought  this  Jionio  into 
unit}"  of  i)erson  with  the  Divinity,  although  he  pos- 
sessed no  deserts,  the  close  connection  between  tho 
death  of  Christ  and  the  redemption  from  tho  devil, 
the  atonement  and  baptism,  on  tho  one  side,  the 
thought  of  the  appearance  and  history  of  Christ  as 
exaltation  in  humility  and  as  the  prototype  of  the 
I'ita  CJin'sficoia,  on  the  other.  The  redemptive  im- 
portance of  Christ  was  to  Augustine  as  strongly  ex- 
pressed in  this  humility  in  exaltation  and  in  the 
prototype  (vid.  Bernard  and  Francis)  as  in  Christ's 
death.  The  incarnation  as  such  recedes,  i.e.  is  placed 
in  a  light  which  was  entirely  foreign  to  the  Greeks. 
Accordingly  the  '^d  article  was  quite  changed;  the 
old  dogmatic  material  is  only  the  building  mate- 
rial.— In  the  3d  article  the  unrestrainedness  and  as- 
surance with  which  an  ever-enduring  forgiveness  of 
sins  within  the  Church  is  taught  is  the  princij)al 
and  the  new  point.  Among  the  masses  the  growing 
laxity  had  called  forth  the  inexhaustible  sacrament 
of  atonement;  but  with  Augustine  the  new  knowl- 


Chris- 

toldjxy   nf 

AuKUStiiif. 


EmphasiH 

oil 

Hfdeinp- 

tiuu. 


il'    • 


!■  ;  I 


«^p 


r:- 


Paul, 


:J80       OUTLINES   OK   THK    HISTORY    OK    IXXJMA. 

t'(lj^(;  lijul  IxH'ii  given  through  an  intensifying  of  the 
('()nsciousnesB  of  sin  and  a  burrowing  into  the  grace 
AiiKustiue,  of  God,  as  Paul  has  taught  it.  True,  the  (luestion  of 
tlie  personal  assurance  of  salvation  had  as  yet  not 
touched  his  soul — he  stands  between  the  ancient 
Church  and  Luther — ;  the  question.  How  can  I  be  rid 
of  my  sins  and  bo  filled  with  the  power  of  God?  was 
his  fundamental  question.  In  following  the  vulgar 
Catholic  teaching  he  looks  about  for  good  works ;  but 
he  conceived  them  as  the  product  of  grace  and  of  the 
will  which  is  dependent  upon  grace ;  he  accordingly 
warned  men  against  relying  upon  outward  acts.  Cul- 
tus  and  even  alms  he  put  aside;  he  knows  that  it  is 
a  question  of  inward  transformation,  of  a  pure  heart 
and  a  new  spirit.  At  the  same  time  he  is  sure  that 
ForRive-  after  baptism  the  way  also  to  forgiveness  of  sins 
ever  stands  open  to  the  penitent,  and  that  he  who 
does  not  believe  in  this  commits  the  sin  against  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  is  an  entirely  new  interpretation 
of  the  Gospel  passage.  Very  explicitly  was  the  con- 
clusion of  the  symbol  {resurrectio  carnis)  explained. 
But  the  main  point  here,  after  a  short  explanation 
of  the  real  theme,  is :  The  new  doctrine  of  predesti- 
nation as  the  strength  of  his  theology ;  furthermore 
the  idea,  essentially  new  as  a  doctrine  (it  stands  in 
place  of  Origen's  doctrine  regarding  the  apokatas- 
tasis),  of  a  purification  of  souls  in  the  hereafter,  to- 
ward which  the  prayers  and  sacrifices  of  survivors 
are  able  to  contribute. 
Piety.  Piety:  Faith  and  love  in  place  of  fear  and  hope; 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.       381 

religion:  Something  higher  than  all  that  is  called 
doctrine,  a  new  life  in  the  strength  of  love;  the  doc- 
trine of  Scripture :  The  thimjs  (the  Gospel,  faith,  love, 
hope — God) ;  the  trinity :  The  Due  living  God ;  Chris- 
tology :  The  one  Mediator,  the  man  Jesus,  with  whoso 
soul  the  Divinity  has  been  united,  without  the  former 
having  deserved  it;  redemption:  Death  for  the  l)en- 
efit  of  enemies  and  hiunility  in  exaltation;  grace: 
The  new  creative,  changeless  power  of  love;  the  sac- 
raments :  The  Word  along  with  the  sign ;  bliss :  The 
hedta  necessitas  of  the  good;  the  good.  Dependence 
upon  God;  history:  God  does  everything  nccordiiKj 
to  hiii  pleasure.  Compare  with  this  the  Greek  dog- 
matics! True,  the  old  dogma  grew  the  more  rigid, 
the  farther  they  were  pushed  into  the  backgroimd 
(not  abolished) ;  the)''  became  ecclesiastical  law  and 
order.  The  new  doctrines  remained  still  fluid;  they 
had  not  as  yet  received  the  form  and  value  of  dog- 
mas. Through  Augustine  Church  doctrine  became 
more  indefinite  as  regards  extent  and  importance. 
On  the  one  hand  it  was  traced  back  to  the  Gospel,  on 
the  other  it  defined  its  limits  less  sharply  in  relation 
to  theology,  since  a  definite  formulation  was  lack- 
ing. Around  the  old  dogma,  which  maintained 
themselves  in  rigid  validity,  a  large  indefinito  circle 
of  doctrines  was  formed,  in  which  the  most  impor- 
tant thoughts  concerning  faith  lived,  and  which  not- 
withstanding could  be  surveyed  and  firmly  fixed  by 
no  one.  That  was  the  condition  of  the  dogma  dur- 
ing the  Middle  Ages.     By  the  side  of  the  rigidity 


Ileligion. 

Doctrine. 

Trinity 

Chris 
toloj;y. 


Rtvl«Mnp- 
tioii. 

(Jraco. 

Sacra- 
ments. 


The  Good. 
History. 


K 


'  ♦■ 


( 


m 


■f 

■if* 


5        ■<■■ 


*  ■■  ■ 


P- 

».},-. 


It  - 


■s  '  : 


(• 


III) 


C'afhf.lic 
Cliiircli 

SlICCI'filR  to 

West    l;(>- 

iiiaii 
Knipiro. 


Tli.> 
Franks. 


3.^'^       OITLINKS   OF   Tin-:    HfSTOin'   OF   DOCiMA. 

tlicro  had  alivady  hoyiin  lli(3  process  of  inward  dis- 
.solutiou. 

CHAITEIl  V. 

IlISTOKV    OK    IXXJMA    IN   Till:   ()((  IDENT   TIM.   TIIK 
BE(;iNMNti   OF   TliH    MIODI.F   A(iKS  (loU-OOt). 

^Toiler,  Scinipclajjjianisimis  R.  E.'^     Wi^^'^crs,  i.  Z.  f.  li.  Th., 
lS,")Jf. ,  aiul  clsowliuro.     Lau,  (ircgor  tl.  (ir.,   1845. 

Tin:  AVostcni  Roman  ompire  collapsed.  The 
Catholic  Chnrcli  steppe  1  in  as  the  heir  of  the  empire, 
the  Roman  bishop  as  the  heir  of  the  emperor  (Leo  I. 
and  his  successors  in  tlie  Tjth  century).  But  the 
l)apjc<  V,  scarcely  put  at  the  head,  ex])erienced  in  the 
time  of  Justinian  a  severe  reverse,  from  which  Gre- 
gory alone  succored  it.  During  the  5th  and  Oth  cen- 
turies the  Roman  church  was  not  as  yet  able  to  disci- 
pline the  barbarian  nations;  for  the}'  were  Arian 
and  Rome  was  not  free  but  chained  to  the  Orient 
from  the  0th  centur}'  on.  The  Franks  alone  became 
Catholic,  yet  they  at  first  remained  independent  of 
Rome.  Nevertheless  just  at  this  time  the  claim  of 
the  Roman  bishoi),  that  everything  valid  of  Peter 
(especially  Mt.  10:17  secj.)  was  also  valid  of  him,  ob- 
tained recognition.  Dogmatic  efforts  were  limited 
to  the  rece])tion  and  toning  down  of  Augustinianism 
in  the  sense  of  gluing  it  on  to  the  common  Catho- 
lic teaciiing.  As  regards  the  old  Roman  sym- 
bol, it  obtained  in  Caul  at  that  time  its  jn'es- 
ent   form,    in  which  esi)ecially    the  new   expression 


DEVELOPMKNT    OF   DOfTHIXE   OF   STX,  ETC.       :]S3 


*' comnnniio  .sfoiclnrnm  ''    (Faustiis  of  Roji)    is   of 
iniportaiK'c.  , 

I.    (U)ni('st  hcl n'coi  Semi- r<'I(i(/i((ni.sin  (Uid 

Gniti'fiil  estoom  for  AinMisliiu',  n'.octioii  of  W^-  rro'i'^^tinft- 
lagiaiiisin,  recognition  of  (lie  imivorsal  horoditarv  rlsistlhiilfl. 
peccability  and  of  the  necessity  of  grace  (as  (tdiuht- 
riiim)  did  not  as  yet  mean  tli(»  recognition  of  predes- 
tination and  of  the  (fraiia  irrcsist ibiliK.  Justifi- 
cation by  works,  for  which  Augustine  himself  left  a 
concealed  place,  and  a  correct  instinct  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal self-preservation  reacted  against  these  doctrines. 
During  Augustine's  life-time  they  had  already  called 
forth  uneasiness  and  doubt  among  the  monks  of 
Hadrumet  {A}fa.  do  (/raiitt  cf  lihcro  nrhiirio  and  de 
corrupfioiic  cf  (frdtin) .  A  year  or  two  later  (4  v'S- 1  •*•») 
his  devoted  friends  reported  to  him  that  in  the  south 
of  Gaul  (monks  at  Massilia  and  other  p!  s)  there  ^'•^"K^."*' 
was  an  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  i)redcstination 
and  of  the  inability  of  the  will,  because  it  paralyzed 
the  Christian  preaching.  Augustine  by  his  writings 
de praedest .  sand,  and  dc  dono  perscrcranfiae  con- 
firmed his  friends,  but  rather  goaded  his  opjxments. 
After  his  death  the  ''servi  r/c/"  in  southern  Gaul 
advanced  more  daringly,  yet  not  quite  openly 
for  Augustine  possessed  gn^at  authority.  Tin; 
CoiiiniOiu'foriinit  of  Vincent,  wliicli  fornndates  the 
sli'ii'tl}'  ecclesiastic  traditional  {)oint  of  view  (see 
above,  p.  221),  is  aimed,  at  least  indirectly,  against 


.i,ii 


If 

11    : 

fl     ^ 

FH 


:JS4       OL'TMNKS   of    TlIK    HISTORY    OF    DOOMA. 


John 


catwian.  *^®  TunvnoHs  of  Augustiiio's  (loftrino;  JdIiii  Cassi- 
an,  tho  fathor  of  tho  south  (iallic  monks,  gavo  in 
his  "cotldfioiics^'  expression  to  sei)ii-J\'l(uiiituism^ 
althougli  ho  had  learned  mueh  from  Augustine.    Tho 

T'oints  (.f    decisive  points  of  somi-Pehigianism  are  the  aclual 

St'riii-I'cla- 

Kianisin.  universality  of  grace,  tho  accountahility  (responsi- 
hility)  of  man — herein  is  it  evangelical — and  tho 
importance  of  good  works.  Accordingly  the  (/rati a 
praeveniens  is  in  general  admitted  only  as  outward 
grace.  God  created  the  conditions,  opportunity  and 
possibility  of  our  salvation ;  but  inward  (sanctifying) 
grace  concurs  with  the  free  will,  which  is  accord- 
ingly a  co-ordinate  factor.  Therefore  the  one  as  well 
as  the  other  may  lead  the  way,  and  a  gratia  irre- 
sistihilis  is  as  much  excluded  as  a  predestination  in- 
dependent of  tho  Divine  prescience  (of  free  actions). 
The  latter  involves  an  ingens  sacrilegium  {i.e.  fatal- 
ism), even  if  the  reservation  must  stand  that  God's 
Hiiarius  ways  are  incomprehensible  (like  Hilarius  of  Aries, 
"Prn.'dos-   and  more  decidedly,  but  at  the  same  time  given  to 

tinatus." 

lying,  the  unknown  author  of  the  "  Praedestinahis  ", 
tho  origin  of  which  is  still  a  riddle — the  representa- 
tion is  fairly  in  keeping  with  that  of  Jerome,  as 
general  doctrine  it  is  more  hesitating  than  that  of 
Augustine,  as  an  expression  of  Christian  self -judg- 
ment it  is  a  desertion  of  the  truth).  The  defenders 
of  Augustine,  Prosper  and  the  unknown  author  of 
the  lihri  II.  de  vocatione  gentium  (milder  than 
Augustinianism),  did  not  produce  a  decisive  effect, 
although  pope  Colestius  reprimanded  their  opponents 


Hi. 


■li  jl 


les, 
to 


as 

tof 

dg- 

ers 

of 

■lan 


DKVKLOPMENT  OF  DOrTHINK  <)K  SIN,  KTf.   385 

as  over-curiouH  people.  During  the  luHt  <leca(l»^s  of 
the  5tli  century  scmi-Pelajrianism  obtained  an  excel- 
lent representative  in  tlu^  renowned  teaeluT  of  south- 


Gaul,    F 


)f   R 


em  UaiU,    l^austus  ot    k<mi,   an  aniiahit?  and    nui( 


il)U 


d 


1(1 


IH. 


Fftiist 
of  H.'Ji. 


M»'ritiim 
1).'  Coil 
jfrun  ft 
CundiKno. 


ahhot  and  hishop,  who  turned  as  well  aj^ainst  I'e- 
lagius  "y)r^s7//cr  ",  as  against  the  grave  error  of  pro- 
destination  (in  his  writing,  de  (jrcffia  cJci  cf  Innnantie 
nicnfislihrro  arhifrio),  and  who  induced  the  strictly 
Augustinian  preshytcM'  Lucidus  to  recant,  after  that 
the  doctrine  of  predtvstination  had  been  condemned 
at  the  synod  of  Aries  (1*5).  Faustus  in  his  doctrine 
is  still  luoix^  nioiihisli  than  Cassianand  h^ss  inlluenced 
by  Augustine.  He  already  brought  forward  iniplic- 
itl}'  the  doctrine  of  nicrifnm  dc  ('(nu/riio  cf  coiid/ffno. 
In  the  Jidc.s  as  knowledge  and  in  the  endeavors  of 
the  will  to  reform  its(>lf  there  lies  a  mcvitum^  l)orn 
of  the  grafid  prinui,  which  participates  in  the  re- 
deeming grace  that  now  works  in  union  with  the 
will,  so  that  jierfect  meritd  are  produced. 

Like  as  Pelagijuiisni  and  Nestorianism,  which  are 
inwardly  imited,  were  once  drawn  into  a  common 
fate,  so  also  was  scmi-Pelagianism  entangled  in  the 
Christological  controvers}'  and  found  therein  its  pro- 
visional end.  The  f/<co7)06*c////e  Scythian  monks  in  S^^^'^" 
Constantinople  (see  above,  p.  SO?),  who  in  their  ^'"uoS"" 
Christology  especially  emphasized  the  Divine  factor, 
denounced  the  Occidental  theologians  (Faustus)  as 
enemies  of  the  correct  Christology  and  as  opponents 
of  grace,  taking  their  stand  with  Augustine.     The 

pope  gave  an  evasive  decision,  but  the  monks  found 
35 


•";;  III 


\Hi 


hMf 


1} 


FtllK<''>tiUH 
of  HUH|K'. 


CH?8arius 
of  Aries. 


Cbaptera. 


Bouiface 
II. 


Gratia 

Praeveni- 

ens. 


380       OITTLINRS   OF   THE    IIISTOKY    OF   IHKSMA. 

nllioH  nmoiig  tlio  hisliops  who  had  \)oon  hanished 
from  North  Africa  into  Sardinia.  Ful{^'i»ntius  of 
Ruspo  wroto  ahont  r)20  wvcral  important  letters 
against  the  authority  of  Faustus,  in  which  comploto 
Augustinianism  is  set  forth  (particularity  of  grace, 
pravih'Hibiatio  ad  poeiuun) .  These  and  the  reading 
of  Augustino's  sermons  had  its  effect  also  in  south- 
ern Oaul.  The  age  saw  hut  the  one  dilennna,  either 
Augustine  is  a  luu'etic,  or  a  hely  teacher.  The  groat 
Gallic  preacher,  who  had  obtained  his  education  en- 
tirely fn)m  Augustine,  Cjcsarius  of  Aries  (f  54'^), 
averted  the  South-Gallic  opposition,  which  had  be- 
come boisterous  at  the  synod  of  Valence ;  supported 
by  the  pope  ho  gained  the  victt)ry  at  tlio  small  synod 
of  Orange  {'rlh)  with  the  ^5  "  Chapters",  which  the 
popo  had  extracted  from  the  writings  of  Augustine 
and  Prosper  and  sent  to  the  southern  Gauls  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  earl}'  fathers.  A  few  only  in  south- 
ern Gaul  supported  Cfosarius  (Avitus  of  Vienne,  f 
523) ;  but  most  of  the  bishops  were  perhaps  no  longer 
capable  of  following  the  point  under  controversy. 
The  approval  of  pope  Boniface  II.  strengthened  the 
authority  of  the  decrees  of  Orange,  which  were  later 
tolerantly  considered  by  the  Tvidentine  council.  The 
"  Chapters"  are  Augustinian,  but  predestination  is 
wanting;  and  the  inward  process  of  grace  upon 
which  for  Augustine  the  principal  emphasis  lay  is 
not desorvinglj'  appreciated.  The  grat ia jyraeveniens 
is  taught  unequivocally,  because  the  strict  conception 
of  hereditary  sin  and  with  it  the  doctrine  of  gracQ 


DKVKI.OI'MKNT   OK    IXX'TUINR  OK   SIN,  KT(\       HH? 


ished 
18    of 
otters 
npleto 
^rjico, 
jidin^ 
south- 
either 
»  great 
on  eii- 
\  542), 
ijul  he- 
)  ported 
I  synod 
ich  the 
iustino 
as  the 
sonth- 
?nne,  f 
longer 
oversy. 
led  the 
re  later 
The 
ition  is 
e  upon 
lay  is 
wniens 
ception 
f  gracQ 


were  emphasized  hy  the  inntikish  vi(Hvs  regardinj^ 
the  impurity  of  matrimony.  Ihit  otherwise  the  d<M*- 
trine  is  in  reahty  an  Augwstiiiianism  witliout  Augus- 
tine, or  eould  easily  he  understood  as  such;  i.e.  the 
vulgar  Catholic  views  concerning  outward  grace  and 
works  could  and  would  maintain  tliemselves  along- 
side of  it. 

2.    UrvijiH'd  tliv  Ureal  (.VJ()-G04). 

Rome  finally  advanced  the  formidas  of  Augustin-  <ir.«K">ryi. 
ianism  to  victory,  although  its  hishops  in  tlu^  Oth 
century  withdrew  far  from  the  same,  (jlregory  1.,  a 
pope  highly  iniluential  through  liis  personality  (a 
monk),  his  letters,  writings  (rcffnla  ^>f<.s7orn//.s',  flid- 
logi,  expos,  in  Job  sen  inoralici,  honiil.  in  Kzcvk.) 
and  liturgical  reforms,  under  the  cover  of  Augus- 
tinian  language  strengthened  the  vulgar  (\itholic 
type,  hy  means  of  superstitious  elements,  then  gave 
expression  to  it  again,  and  ))rought  forward  into 
prominence  the  old  Occidental  conception  of  religion 
as  legalistic  organization.  Tlie  miraculous  hecMUK;  Mirju-niouy 
characteristic  of  religion.  The  latter  lived  among 
angels,  devils,  sacraments,  sacrifices,  penitential 
rites,  punishment  of  sins,  fear  and  lio})e,  hut  not  in 
sure  confidence  in  God  through  Christ  and  in  love. 
Even  if  Gregory  personally  indulged  in  Augustinian 
thoughts  and  manifested  in  his  own  way  justice, 
gentleness  and  freedom,  yet  the  variegated  form 
of  his  theology  testifies  that  even  the  hest  men  at 
that  time  were  not  ahle  to  withdraw  from  the  relig- 


ion. 


k 


Grep:ory 

Domiuates 

in  DoKHia 

Half  a  Mil- 

IcDnium. 


Repro- 
duces 
Auj?ustin<"i 
with  Semi- 
Pelagian 
Modifica- 

tiODS. 


Sacriflc<>  of 

Christ  Rc- 

ppati'd  in 

Ijord  "8 

Supper. 


388       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA. 

ions  barbarism  into  which  aiiti(iiiity  liad  dissolved. 
Gregory  was  in  after  time  more  read  and  lauded 
than  Augustine.  For  nearly  half  a  millennium  he 
dominated  without  a  rival  tlie  history  of  dogma  in 
the  Occident,  and  he  really  dominates  Catholicism 
even  now.  He  indeed  created  nothing  new;  but  by 
the  manner  in  which  ho  accentuated  the  various 
doctrines  and  Church  customs  and  introduced  a  sec- 
ond-rate religion  into  theology,  ho  created  the  vulgar 
type  of  Roman  Catholicism.  Espi.'cially  wcjrth}^  of 
mention  are  the  following :  ( 1 )  He  reproduced  the 
most  valuable  series  of  Augustine's  thoughls  con- 
cerning the  inner  effect  and  a])prop»*iation  of  grace, 
in  part  even  independent  of  the  latter,  attributing 
also  to  the  Word  {vertyiim  jidei)  great  importance; 
but  he  gave  to  all  phases  of  the  Augustiman  ordo 
salntis  a  semi-Pelagian  cast,  since  he  conceived  the 
Uberum  arhitriuni  as  a  factor  coordinate  with  grace 
{"^ nosmet  ipsos  liherare  diclmiu\  quia  liberanti 
nos  domino  consent imus'')',  {-l)  He  felt  the  impor- 
tance of  the  death  of  Christ,  perhaps  more  intensely 
than  Augustine,  but  among  the  different  points  of 
view  under  which  he  placed  it  the  apocryphal  pre- 
dominates: Through  Christ's  death  t]io  ("!;'vil  was 
overcome,  after  he  had  been  chctited;  in  the  Lord's 
Supper  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  is  actually  repeated 
(here  Gregory's  doctrine  has  become  especially  the 
standard),  and  thus  an  imaginary  sacrifice  takes  the 
place  of  the  historical ;  l)ut  otherwise  also  the  his- 
torical Christ  appears  supplanted,  viz.  by  his  own 


^t^bm* 


Ived. 
Luded 
m  he 
aia  in 
icism 
)ut  by 
[irioiis 
a  sec- 
^'iilgar 
thy  of 
I'd  the 
s  con- 
grace, 
biiting 
rtancc; 
11  or  do 
v-ed  the 
1  grace 
Kiranti 
impor- 
tenselj' 
)iiits  of 
al  pre- 
il  was 
Lord's 
jpeated 
illy  the 
kes  the 
he  his- 
itt  own 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOPTRIXE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      380 

merituniy  which  as  the  resuU  of  a  sinless  life  and 
holy  death  is  separated  fi'oiii  him,  an  actual  good 
necessar}'  to  every  one  in  order  to  api)ease  the  angry 
God,  but  in  its  value  to  the  individual  (luite  an  un- 
certain treasure;  {'■))  With  this  conception  of  the  in- 
tercession of  the  iiicritiun   CJin'sti,  Gregory  united     interce*- 

'  ^      "^  sion  of 

the  hitherto  uncertain  thoughts  regarding  the  inter-  suiuts,  etc. 
cession  of  the  saints  and  the  service  of  the  angels, 
and  exalted  them  to  the  lofty  i>lane  of  "theology". 
He  legitimized  the  pagan  superstition  which  had 
need  of  demi-gods  and  graded  deities,  had  re- 
course to  the  holy  bodies  of  martyrs  and  joined  the 
service  of  Christ  closely  with  that  of  the  saints, 
classifying  and  commending  the  archangels  and 
guardian-angels,  and  fortifj^iug  the  evil  practice  by 
his  doctrine;  (4)  Hierarch  more  in  practice  than  in 
doctrine,  he  brought  out  strongly  the  similarity  of 
the  Church  and  the  ciiitas  Dei,  for  he  lived  at  a 
time  when  nothing  of  value  existed  save  the  Church. 
He  extolled  the  latter  as  the  coityregah'o  .saiictonun, 
but  in  reality  it  was  to  him  an  educational  institu- 
tion, repelling  the  evil  and  dispensing  grace ;  a  higher 
idea  the  men  of  that  day  dare  not  set  before  them- 
selves. To  him  the  Roman  bishop  was  the  mast(  r 
only  of  the  sinning  bishops  (the  laity  no  longer  play 
any  part  at  all),  liut  sinners  were  they  all  (''.s/  ([ua 
culpa  in  e2)isco2)iH  invenitur,  nescio  ([in's  Petri 
successor!  suhiectns  non  sit:  ciun  rero  chIjki  non 
exigit,  omnes  secundum  rationeni  huinilitatis  (te- 
quales  sunt'') ',  (T))  Gregory  still  knows  what  inner 


Church 

and  ("i%i- 

tiis  Dei. 


»r 


•i  I 


390       OUTLINES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  DOGMA. 


'I  i  M 


\ 


^sfaui'tlS'"  g^^^^  of  grace  and  virtue  are,  but  the  exterminated 
propriateci.  Romaii  pag;inism  had  notwithstanding  transmitted 
to  him  also  its  inventory  and  its  religious  mode  of 
thought  in  such  a  perfect  way  that  he  encased  all 
religious  duties  and  virtues  in  statutory,  firmly  out- 
lined ceremonies,  which  were  in  part  adopted  old 
Roman  customs;  here  also  he  created  in  reality  lit- 
tle that  was  new,  but  he  elevated  to  ecclesiastical 
ordinances  of  salvation  of  the  first  rank  the  Roman 
"  reZ/V/Zo"  together  with  the  remnants  of  the  mj'steries 
which  long  since  had  obtained  civic  rights  in  the 
^"seif''^'  Church;  (G)  Gregory  had  a  feeling  for  true  hum il- 
Deniai.  -^^^  ^^^^  ^iq  strengthened  the  trend  which  this  virtue 
had  taken  tow^ard  monastic  "  humilitas''\  self-denial 
and  spiritual  self-deception:  With  the  simple  sense 
of  truth  the  sense  of  truthfulness  died  out — it  became 
night;  and  the  world  of  the  inner  life  also,  which 
Augustine  had  enlightened,  grew  dark  again;  (7) 
Gregory's  deductions  concerning  penitence  became 
the  most  consequential ;  in  these  his  theology  lived 
and  from  them  one  could  wholly  construe  it.  The 
inscrutable  God  is  the  Requiter  and  leaves  no  sin 
unpunished ;  in  baptism  he  has  overlooked  inherited 
sin,  but  it  is  our  concern  to  gain  blessedness  through 
penance  and  good  works  by  the  aid  of  the  hand  of 
grace.  Of  the  three  parts  of  penitence  {conversio 
mentis,  con  fessio  oris,  v  indict  a  peccati)  the  penalty 
to  be  paid  for  sin  becomes  in  reality  the  most  impor- 
tant. By  Gregory"  the  fatal  transposition  was  first 
carried  out  that  the  ^*  satisfactiones",  which  origin- 


Penance. 


lated 
litted 
de  of 
}d  all 
f  out- 
d  old 
ty  lit- 
Lstical 
loman 
steries 
in  the 
lumil- 
virtue 
denial 
3  sense 
>ecame 
which 

)ecame 
lived 
The 
no  sin 
lerited 
irough 
and  of 
versio 
)enalty 
impor- 
is  first 
origin- 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.      391 

ally  were  considered  a  sure  attestation  of  repentance, 
are  the  satisfying  penalties  for  sin,  to  which  one 
submits  in  order  to  avoid  eternal  punishment.  The 
merit  of  Christ  and  the  power  of  the  Church  seem  to 
consist  in  the  very  fact  that  eternal  punishment  is 
changed  into  tempered;  these  temi)oral  i)enalties, 
however,  are  again  diminished,  abbreviated,  or  pre- 
vented by  the  intercession  of  Christ  and  the  saints, 
by  masses  for  the  soul,  relics,  amulets,  etc.  The 
fact  which  has  always  been  observable  in  the  history 
of  religion,  that  wherever  religion  takes  its  aim  from 
morals  it  becomes  immoral,  is  exemplified  here  also. 
In  the  main  principle  the  severe  idea  of  retribution 
dominates,  in  the  subordinate  all  possible  means  of 
salvation  come  into  play,  in  part  not  even  with  Chris- 
tian etiquette,  and  in  the  final  instance  casuistry  and 
fear  rule.  Long  before  this  view  sufficed  no  longer 
for  this  life  and  for  time,  and  yet  men  had  not  dared 
to  reach  over  into  eternity — for  who  could  then  be 
considered  saved? — but  Gregory  was  the  first  to  se- 
curely introduce  purgatory  into  theology,  thereby 
conquering  an  immense  province  for  the  Church,  to 
remove  hell  farther  awa}*,  and  tlius  to  procure  for 
uncertainty  a  new  comfort,  but  no  rest. 


Satisfac- 
tions, In- 
terces- 
sions, 
Masses,  etc. 


Hi.b 


I 


yi  1 


604 


OUTLINES  OF   THE   IIISTOKY    OK   DOmiA. 


.    ( 


'  '■'  .1 


(-■•r 


i(  : 


'ii-i 


;:li    .•     ;i 


1     I;. 


11     ■  '■* 

1 

k 

Clovis. 


Pepin  and 
Charle- 
magne. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY   OF  DOGMA   IN   THE   TIME  OF  THE 
CARLOVINGIAN   RENAISSANCE. 

Bath,  D(i.  des  MA.,  3  Bdd.,  1873  f.  Renter,  Gescli.  d  re- 
lig.  Aufkliirimg  ini  MA.,  2  Bdd.,  187o  f.  Ilauck,  KGesch. 
Deutscldands,  2  Bdd.,  18H7  f .  Schwune,  DG.  d.  mittlereii 
Zt. ,  1882.  Spiess,  Gesch.  d.  Unterriditsweseu  i.  Deutscld.  bis 
z.  Mitte  d.  13.  Jahrh.,  1885.  Hatch,  The  Growth  of  Church 
Institutions,  1887. 

Clovis'  conversion  to  Christianity  and  Gregory's 
missionary  efforts  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  history  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  among  the  Germans.  In  the  7th  century 
Arianism  died  out ;  in  the  8th  Rome  Was  forced  to 
transfer  the  centre  of  gravity  of  its  politics  to  the 
Romano- Germanic  empire.  Newly  converted  Eng- 
land and  Germany  became  at  once  Roman.  Pepin 
and  Charles  the  Great  made  advances  to  the  pope. 
At  first  the  new  kingdom  of  the  Franks  gained  more 
than  the  pope ;  but  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the 
latter  obtained  the  highest  benefit  from  the  confeder- 
ation, not  because  the  idea  in  itself  of  the  Christian 
conqueror  signified  less  than  that  of  the  successor  of 
Peter,  but  because  it  demanded  the  foundation  of  an 
actual  world-empire,  which,  however,  could  be  only 
temporarily  created. 

Spiritual  life  and  theology  had,  prior  to  the  time 
of  Charles  the  Great,  no   progressive   history;   the 


DEVELOPMENT   OK    DOCTFUNE   OK   SIN,  ETC.       iJO!) 


Ctirloviiij^iaii  o[)(X'li  was  a  jjjivat  a  Jul,  in  many  respcfls, 
abortive  attom})t  at  a  revival  of  anti(iuity  and  likewise 
also  of  the  theology  of  the  fathers.  Whatever  of 
theology  was  at  hand  prior  to  about  the  j'ear  SOO  is 
compendiinn  and  excerpt  (Isidore  of  Seville,  ±Jede, 
later  Kabanus),  is  in  a  certain  measure  "institu- 
tion'', like  the  whole  of  religion.  Through  IJedeand 
Alciiin,  Augustine  was  revived.  It  was  a  great  ad- 
vance when  men  began  to  really  luiderstand  him 
again — in  some  respects  better  than  did  Gregory  (Al- 
cuin,  Agobard  and  others) — ;  still  as  an  independent 
thinker  Scotus  Erigen.a  ak)ne  can  be  named,  whose 
mystical  pantheism,  derived  from  the  Areopagite 
and  Augustine  {"" de  divisione  naturae''),  remained 
however  wholly  witlnmt  effect.  The  effort  at  cul- 
ture in  the  Oth  century  was  a  very  respectable  one 
(see  the  manuscripts  preserved  to  us).  Starting  in 
England  (Theodore  of  Tarsus,  Bede,  Alcuin)  it  swept 
over  the  continent  and  was  strengthened  by  the  cul- 
ture of  Italy,  which  had  never  been  entirely  extin- 
guished. But  during  the  great  convulsions  after  the 
third  quarter  of  the  0th  century  everything  seemed 
again  to  be  engulfed.  The  dogmatic  controversies 
of  the  age  originated,  in  part,  in  the  hitherto  hidden 
but  now  strictly  draw^n  consequences  of  Augustinian- 
ism,  and,  in  part,  in  the  relationshij)  then  sustained 
toward  the  Orient.  The  farther  development  of  the 
mass  and  of  penance,  in  practice  and  in  theory,  de- 
serves especial  attention. 


Tlieodore 

of  Tarsus. 

BihIc, 

Aleuin. 


Scotus 
Erigeua. 


!l 


I'  'I 

i 


I   i  : 


il 


i 


394        OUTLINES   OP   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


1   A.   Tlie  Adoption  Controveistj. 
Ilauck,  a.  a.  O.   II.  ;  (ianis,  Kirchongeschiclite  Spaniens  II. 


'.f 


I.  1'' 


■j 


Christol- 

oj/y  of  Sth 

Ccnincil 

Dominant 

in 
Occident, 


ElipanduB 
of  Toledo. 


Felix  of 
Naples. 


L  . 


In  the  Occident  after  severe  contests  the  Christol- 
ogy  of  the  5th  council  gained  the  victory,  and  in 
spite  of  the  Gth  council  this  mystical  view,  under 
the  guise  of  monophysitisni,  supplanted  the  strict 
Chalcedon,  since  the  superstitious  ideas  about  the 
Lord's  Supper  favored  it.  Spain  was  less  influenced 
by  this  development.  In  the  jMuzarabic  liturgy  stood 
the  Augustinian  formula  of  the  pasfiio  jilii  adop- 
tirri.  Elipandus,  the  tyrannical  bishop  of  Toledo, 
full  of  national  pride,  brought  into  notice  about  the 
year  780  the  old  doctrine  that  Christ  as  regards  his 
human  nature  infUus  del  adopt' vus^  the  redeemed 
therefore  in  the  fullest  sense  brethren  of  the  man 
Jesus.  Very  likely  he  desired  a  formula  different 
from  that  of  Rome  as  an  expression  of  the  orthodoxy 
which  was  to  be  found  only  in  Spain.  From  inward 
conviction  and  with  high  regard  for  the  human  per- 
son Jesus,  Felix,  bishop  of  Naples,  who  occupied 
a  chair  in  the  empire  of  Charles,  championed  the 
same  (reading  of  Antiochian  scriptures  is  probable). 
After  that  Beatus  and  Eterius  had  defended  the  op- 
position doctrine  in  Spain,  the  Franconian  theolo- 
gians, especially  Alcuin,  interfered.  Monophysites 
and  Nestorians  faced  each  other  under  new  helmets ; 
but  to  Charles  the  opportiniity  of  proving  himself 
the  guardian  of  orthodoxy  and   the   master  of  the 


DEVELOPMENT  OP  DOCTRINE  OF  SIN,  ETC.      305 


Church  was  welcome.  Adoptioiiism  was  condciniicd  fj,',','''^,'"" 
at  the  synods  of  Rcgeiisbiirg  {VJ'l),  Frankfurt  (TOl),  ''''""''**• 
and  Aachen  (709),  Felix  was  repeatedly  forced  to 
recant,  and  Frankish  Spain  was  recalled  through 
theology  and  gentle  pressure  (wheel  of  torture)  to 
the  unity  of  the  mystical  faith.  The  doctrine  of 
John  of  Damascus,  which  conceived  the  human  na- 
ture in  Christ  as  impersonal  and  placed  it  as  the  as- 
sumed nature  of  the  Logos  in  complete  unity  with 
him,  gained  the  victory  in  the  Occident  also.  Yet 
in  spite  of  the  realistic  doctrine  concerning  the  Lord's 
Supper  which  crowded  out  the  historical  Christ  and 
demanded  a  fine  monophj'sitism,  Augustinian-adop- 
tion  ideas  were  preserved  through  the  later  theolo- 
gians of  the  Middle  Ages. 


\'\ 


ill! 


i  fi 


I  I 


1  B.   The  Predestination  Contnn'ersy. 

Wiggers,  i.  d.  Z.  f.  h.  Th.,  1859.  Woizsiickor,  i.  d.  Jli.  f. 
d.  Th. ,  1859.  Monogiai)hs  on  Hinkimir,  by  von  Noorden 
u.  Schrors. 

The  dominating  ecclesiastical  system  was  semi- 
Pelagian;  but  in  the  9th  century  Augustine  was 
again  diligently  studied.  That  during  the  crisis 
which  arose  Auguptinianism  was  after  all  not  rein- 
stated, notwithstanding  all  the  good  Augustinian 
phrases,  is  a  proof  of  the  power  of  ecclesiasticism. 
The  monk  Gottschalk  of  Orbais  maintained  the  doc- 
trine of  predestination  with  the  power  of  Augustine, 
likewise  as  the  chief  and  original  doctrine,  finding 
in  it  the  key  to  the  riddle  of  his  own  life.     He  pro- 


Semi-Pela- 
Douiinant. 


Gottschalk 
of    Orbais. 


Itf 


m 


t. 


I 


1300       OUTLINES   OF  THE    IIFSTOllY   OF   DOGMA. 

cljiimcd  tli(^  j>r«rr/('.s7///r^//o  (jcnn'na  {rnf  rifam  ctad 
iuorlein),  yotvvas  of  the  opinion  tliat  God  predestined 
only  the  good  and  that  he  merely  had  a  fore-knowl- 
edge of  the  evil.  Not  what  ho  said  (Fulgentius  and 
Isidore  had  taught  nothing  different)  but  the  man- 
iier  in  whieh  ho  presented  it  to  the  Church  aroused 
enemies  against  him.  Ho  was  condemned  at  May- 
ga^anus,  enco  (848)  by  Rabanus,  at  Chiersey  (8H»)  by  Hincmar 
and  taken  into  custody  as  a  "  tii  iserahilis  nionachiis", 
from  which  he  never  escaped,  since  he  persistently  re- 
fused to  recant.  But  the  most  eminent  theologians 
went  over  to  his  side,  not  so  much  because  they  were 
in  earnest  about  Augustinianism,  as  to  make  difficul- 
ties for  Hincmar  and  to  preserve  as  traditionalists 
the  Augustinian  "  language".  From  the  kingdom  of 
Lothar  especially  came  the  opposition  to  the  Raban- 
Hincmar  thesis,  that  predestination  should  be  deduced 
from  the  prescience  and  be  limited  to  the  saints.  Hinc- 
mar tried  to  defend  himself  at  the  synod  of  Chiersey 
(853)  against  the  herd  of  Alcuin  disciples  (Prudentius 
of  Troycs,  Ratramnus,  Lupus  of  Ferrieres,  Servatus 
Lupus,  Remigius  of  Lyon,  the  provincial  bishops) 
by  making  in  the  "  Chapters"  large  concessions  to 
Augustinianism,  yet  retaining  in  his  doctrine  of 
one  predestination,  God's  purpose  of  universal  salva- 
tion, etc.  In  these  objective  and  subjective  untrue 
"  Chapters"  the  point  under  consideration  was  no 
longer  clearly  expressed.  Those  who  by  word  of 
mouth  acknowledged  the  whole  of  Augustinianism 
meant  at  that  time  onl}^  the  half,  and  those  who,  like 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      .V.l? 

Hiiicmar,  rejected  a  part  did  in  truth  not  want 
any  at  all.  In  the  archbishopric  of  Sens  and  in 
the  south  of  France  the  resohitions  of  Chiersey  did 
not  give  satisfaction.  At  Valence,  855,  the  grniina 
pvaedt'Htinatia  was  proclaimed  and  Augustinianisni 
in  general  announ('i>d.  At  the  great  synods  of  the 
three  empires  at  Savonieres  (S5!»)  and  Toucy  (SCiO)  a 
unificjition  was  not  so  nnich  secured  as  a  paralyza- 
tion  of  the  controversy  through  agreement.  Hinc- 
mar's  conception  of  tlio  doctrine,  i.e.  Gregory  the 
First's,  was  in  reality  victorious.  The  doctrine  of 
God's  purpose  of  universal  salvation,  of  the  quick 
and  sure  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  and  of  the  con- 
currence of  free-will  continued  in  force;  the  doctrine 
of  predestination  reappeared  as  a  decorative  element 
in  theology.  Only  in  this  form  was  it  compatible 
with  empirical  ecclesiasticism. 


rrat'dfsli- 
natio. 


2.   The  ControverHij  cihoiit  the  Filioque  and  about 

Jnuu/es. 


i:ll 


Hcfeic,  C-ncil.  Gosch.,  Bd.  III.     Pichler.  Gcsch.  d.  kirchl. 
Trennuug  zwischeu  dcm  Oriout  imdOccideut.  2I5do.,  1864  f. 

The  Augustinian-Spanish  formula  "'filioqne'^  (see  AnKustin- 
I.  p.  271)  had  been  accepted  in  France  (see  the  FiVin'',ul:'. 
synod  of  Gcntilly,  7G7)  and  was  defended  by  the  theo- 
logians of  Charlemagne  {libri  Carolini:  Alcuin,  de 
2irocess.  s.  s.).  At  Aachen,  800,  the  Frankish  church 
resolved  that  the  fdioquc  belonged  to  the  symbol. 
This  resolution  was  provoked  by  a  grave  injustice 


, 


.l;l;l 


\.M 


'    ! 


Homo  r)l<l 
Not    Adopt 
it  till    lotli 

Century. 


Imape- 
Worsiiip. 


Libri 
Carolini. 


'6'.iH        OUTfJNKH   OF   TIIK    HISTORY    OF   DOCJMA. 

whicli  tlio  Wostorn  pilgrims  were  called  upon  to  en- 
dure in  Jerusalem.  Although  the  pope  approved  the 
Spanish-Frankish  doctrine,  ho  novorthelesa  refused 
admittance  to  the  watch- word  in  the  symbol.  Not 
until  the  10th  century  does  Rome  appear  to  have  ac- 
cepted it.  If  Charlemagne  widened  the  opening 
breach  between  the  Orient  and  Occident  by  the  ^'Jili- 
oqne"  and  had  therefor  only  a  half-ally  in  the  pope,  ho 
alienated  himself  still  more  from  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
Orient  by  his  rejection  of  image- worship,  whicli 
the  pope  also  still  approved.  The  barbaric  tradition 
of  the  Frankish  church  and  an  Augustinian  element 
(with  Charlemagne  perhaps  also  an  enlightening 
one)  determined  the  attitude  of  the  Occidentals.  At 
Frankfurt,  7{K^  the  decrees  of  the  7th  council  were  laid 
aside,  j'ot  the  resolutions  of  the  synod  of  754  were 
also  rejected.  The  self-confidence  of  the  Frankish 
church  accepted  the  first  six  councils  as  an  expres- 
sion of  ecclesiastical  antiquity,  refused,  however,  to 
be  dictated  to  by  Byzantium  at  the  modern  councils. 
The  ^^  libri  Carolini"  retain  the  old  ecclesiastical 
standpoint:  We  will  neither  worship  images,  nor 
attack  them,  but  treat  them  piously.  This  attitude 
was  still  taken  by  Louis  the  Pious  (synod  of  Paris, 
825)  and  Hincmar.  The  pope  preserved  a  discreet 
silence,  and  the  7th  council,  which  was  favorable 
to  images,  graduall}'  obtained  through  Rome's  influ- 
ence recognition  in  the  Occident  also. 


ni 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  KTC.       ;?!>0 


3.  The  Devi'lophient,  in  Prdcticc  lutil  in  Tlnoni, 
of  the  MasH  {Ikxpnn  of  ilie  Knvh<tri,st)  and  of 
Penance. 

Biicli,  a.  a.  O.  I.  Uiickort.  i.  IlilKenfoUrs  Ztohr..  IH.W. 
UoutiT.  a.  a.  O.  I.  Choisy,  PascluiHo,  IHHS.  UtKcliichte  d. 
Abondinahlslehro  v.  I)i(»ckhotr,  Ebrard,  Kahuis.  Stoitit,  D. 
rum.  Busssacramt'iit,  1854. 

The  thoucrlit  of  iinaL;-c-rei)rosentati()n  was  kept  aloof     Minu-io 

•^  ^  *  *  and   Sftcra- 

iii  an  increasing  nu^asure  fioni  the  Lord's  Supper;  aominuto! 
men  lived  in  a  world  of  miracle  and  of  sacraments, 
so  nuich  did  the  tendcnuy  necessarily  increase  to  por- 
tray the  content  of  the  highest  sacrament  in  an  ex- 
travagant manner,  in  order  to  give  it  prominence 
among  the  multitude  of  holy  things;  the  Christology 
which  allowed  the  historical  Christ  ti)  disappear  bo- 
hind  the  unity  of  the  two  "  ;/r;/;//'r.s'"  tended  towjird 
an  ever-present  Christological  nii/sferiiun,  which 
could  be  felt  and  enjoyed  ;  the  mass  was  considered  Th.-  Mass. 
the  chief  characteristic  and  compendium  of  religinn; 
the  idea  of  the  attri])utes  of  God  was  more  and  more 
cor.centrated  in  the  one,  that  he  is  the  almighty, 
wonder-working  Will — all  these  forces  worked  to- 
gether to  bring  about  the  following  result:  The  Jiia- 
torical  body  of  Jesus  Christ  is  present  in  the  oucha- 
rist,  since  the  elements  are  transformed  into  it.  The  Docetism 
identification  of  the  sacramental  and  the  real  (histor- 
ical) body  of  Christ  could  the  more  easily  be  carried 
out,  since  men  considered  it  from  the  moment  of  in- 
canuition   a  pneumatic  (mysterious)  body  assumed 


¥ 


W    I 


I  1'  I 


^^ 


•  I 


I 

If 


100       OUTMNKS   OF   THK    IIISTOKY    OK    DOGMA. 

by  tlio  Diviiiity,  and  licld  docc^tic  views  in  regard  to 

it,  as  is  proven,  t'.r/.,  by  tin*  controversy  in  regard  to 

the  Ijirtli  of  Jesns  out  of  Maria   cldHso  utcro.     Tho 

Dootrinrof  now  doctrinci  of  tho  eiicharist  would  have  been  for- 

EuchiiriHt. 

niulatod  without  difncnlty  during  tho  Carlovingian 
ago,  boeauso  it  ah'(!a<]y  actually  existed,  had  not  tlio 
thon- revived  study  of  tho  Augustinian  con('ei)tion 
of  sacrament  and  his  s[)i ritualistic  doctrino  of  tho 
I'ftschnsius  oucharist  had  a  restraining  inllucnco.  Paschasius 
Radbortus,  aljbot  of  Corbie,  who  wrote  tlio  first  mon- 
ograph on  tho  Lord's  Supper  (dc  corporc  et  smifjuine 
dovu'iu',  <S;}1),  was,  on  tho  one  side,  an  Augustinian 
and  reproduced  without  inward  S3'mpathy  or  real 
comprohonsion  tlu^  Augustinian  doctrine,  that  tho 
act  belongs  to  faith  and  represents  ;i,  spiritnal  eat- 
ing; but,  on  tins  other  side,  ho  carried  it  on  to  tlu^ 
realistic,  popular  doctrine,  that  in  every  mass  by  a 
miracle  of  tho  Almighty  the  elements  are  transformed 
inicardlii  but  actuall}''  into  the  body  wiiich  was  born 
of  Mary,  and  aro  now  brought  to  God  as  a  sacrifice. 
Outwardly  as  a  rule  no  change  takes  place,  in  order 
that  tho  bod}'  of  Christ  may  not  be  bitten  by  the 
teeth.  God  performs  this  miracle,  which  Paschasius 
conceives  as  a  miracle  of  creation ;  the  priest  simply 
directs  his  supplications  to  God.  But  even  if  the 
holy  food  is  in  reality  now  the  real  body  of  Christ 
himself  (tho  obvious  appearance  of  tho  elements  is 
tho  s^'mbol),  the  fact  still  remains  that  only  be- 
lievers partake  of  the  spiritual  food  unto  inmiortal- 
ity — not,  however,    unbelievers.     Paschasius    drew 


Miracu- 
lous Traus- 
formation 

of 
Elements. 


i 


lid  to 
ird  to 
Tlio 
11  for- 
iij^iaii 
)t  tho 
'ptioii 
)f  the 
[lasius 
moii- 
(juine 
,tiuiaii 
If    real 
at    tho 
a  I  cat- 
to  tho 
by  a 
urmcd 
IS  born 
ifice. 
order 
)y  the 
liasius 
simply 
if  the 
Christ 
ents  is 
ly    be- 
iiortal- 
drew 


cri 


DKVKLor.MKNT   OK   TXM  lUINK   oK   SIN,  KTC.       lUl 

noitlier  all  th«'  hierarchical,  nor  "ohjcctivo"  coiiso- 
oueiu't's  of  tiio  doctrine  of  tran^^nhstantiation,  but  at- 
tempted to  adjnst  the  miracle  to  /'(/////.  Ho  was  not 
a  theologian  primarily  of  the  mass,  hut  wished  to 
bo  a  theologian  in  the  sense  of  Augustine  and  the 
Greek  inystii-.s.  Nevertheless  lie  encountered  an  un- 
exjK3cted  contradiction.  Kahanuse\press(»d  himself, 
in  a  letter  to  Eigel,  in  opi)()sition  to  this  doctrine, 
and  Ratramnus,  a  monk  of  Corbie,  found  in  his  writ-     itAtrnm- 

nu8. 

ings  to  Charles  tho  Bald  (f/c  corjtnrc  vt  sttntjuine 
doinitii)  that  Paschasius  had  not  done  justice  to  the 
".s7>//-////r//c  "  of  Augustine.  But  his  own  explana- 
tions sutler  from  old  ecclesiastical  cloudiness.  Ap- 
parently he  desires,  as  in  the  controv'i>rsy  about  tho 
uterus  cldiisus,  like  a  good  Augustinian  to  set  aside 
the  unwieldy  miracle  of  almightiiiess  con  ho  n<itu- 
ram  and  to  i)lace,  in  the  interest  of  faith,  the  wliolo 
stress  upon  tho  "'  spirit uallter  (jcri^'-,  but  since  ho 
likewise  does  not  doubt  tho  presence  of  the  carims 
domini  after  tho  consecration,  ho  is  compelled  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  real  body  and  tho  body.  Tho 
born,  crucified  body  is  not  in  tho  sacrament — that 
was  tho  old  churchly  idea — but  in  tho  sacrament 
there  is  the  power  of  the  body  of  Christ  as  an  inris-  invisibiiis 
ibilis  suhstantid  and,  in  so  far,  the  pneumatic  hody, 
receivable  only  by  the  mind  of  tho  faithful.  More- 
over Ratramnus  in  a  few  deductions  made  .-till  far- 
ther advances  toward  Paschasius;  nevertheless  tho 
plainest    conception    is   that   of   the  '' 2)()t('nt ialitrr     ^^[Ij""' 

creari  in  nnjfitcj-io'' ;  but  even  this  conception  was    Mysteriu! 
20 


II' 


11:    ■    t 

t! 


i; 


•hi 


■'        It 


402       OUTLINES   OP   THE   HISTORY    OF  DOGMA. 

iio  longer  clear  to  their  superstitious  contemporaries ; 
men  wanted  more  than  faith  reality  and  soul  nour- 
ishment. Paschasius  had  spoken  the  deciding  word. 
The  awe  inspired  by  every  mass  seemed  to  confirm  it 
and  the  same  was  even  heightened  by  the  power  of 
uonTi^d    *^^®  definite  formulation  uf  tlie  doctrine.     Incarnation 

Crucifixion  ■,  -n     •  ^  •£?  i.     i       j. 

Rehearsea  and  cruciuxional  sacrince  were  repeated  at  every 
mass.  What  then  could  even  approximate  this?  It 
was  not  necessary  to  chciiigo  the  old  wording  of  the 
])ra3'ers  of  the  mass,  whicli,  if  they  treated  of  sacri- 
fice, emphasized  the  sacrifice  of  praise;  for  who 
gave  heed  to  the  \vords?  The  mass,  however,  as  a 
cacrificial  act,  in  which  the  God-man  was  offered  up 
to  God,  had  its  culmination  long  since  no  more  in 
real  enjoyment,  but  in  the  consummation  of  the  blot- 
ting out  of  sin  and  removal  of  evil.  It  had  been 
adopted  into  the  great  institution  of  atonement,  and 
Masses      ii  .isses  witliout  communion  (rc(iuiems)  were  multi- 

Mui^ipfkd.  plied  TO  pacify  God.  The  primitive  commemorative 
elejr,cint  of  the  celebration  had  become  independent, 
especially  since  the  day^;  of  Gregory  I.,  and  the 
o  /nimunion  was  changed,  as  it  were,  into  a  second 
clebri^tion.  The  first  celebration,  the  mass,  belonged 
■  0  the  laity  only  in  so  far  as  it  represented  an  espe- 
cially efficacious  form  of  the  Church's  intercession 
for  the  lightening  of  the  punishment  of  sins.  This 
was  the  only  apparent  effect  of  the  act — an  insignifi- 
cant o)ie,  important  only  through  its  summarizing 
of  an  immense  mystery ! 
The  mass  was  subordinated  to  the  institution  of 


anes ; 

nour- 

word. 

irm  it 

rver  of 

aation 

every 

s?    It 

of  the 
sacri- 

ir  who 

ir,  as  a 

3red  up 

norc  in 

iie  blot- 

i(\  been 

nt,  and 
inulti- 
orative 
endent, 
nd  the 
second 
elonged 
111  espe- 
cession 
,     This 
isigniti- 
liarizing 

lition  of 


Church 

and   StaU< 

Blended. 


DEVELOPMENT  OP   DOCTRINE  OP   STN,  ETC.      403 

penance;  in  the  latter  was  reflected  the  rehgious  Hfe.  JSnauuo 
Punishment  ruled  the  world  and  the  conscience.  ^*^"'^^'«' 
The  conception  of  God  as  almighty  Will,  as  Retri- 
bution and  Indulgence  (a  Christian  modification  of 
the  old  Roman  idea)  was  the  ruling  one.  The  con- 
sequence thereof  was  the  idea  that  merits  and  satis- 
factions were  needed  to  compensate  for  the  breaches 
of  contract  occasioned  by  sin  and  oft  repeated.  Thus 
had  Gregory  I.  taught;  moreover  this  view  blended 
in  the  German  nations  with  their  national  ideas  of 
law  and  with  their  legal  restrictions.  Since,  how- 
ever, the  Occidental  Church  did  not,  like  the  Oriental, 
relinquish  the  administration  of  law  and  questions  of 
molality  entirely  to  the  state,  but  rather  interposed 
to  discipline  and  punish,  there  was  devekped,  parallel 
to  the  state  institution  of  law,  the  Church  institu- 
tion of  penance.  The  detailed  development  of  this 
institution  was  a  consequence  of  the  transfer  and 
application  of  the  discipline  of  penance  within  the 
cloisters  to  the  secular  clergy  and  to  the  laity,  and 
it  originated  with  the  Irish-Scottish,  i.e.  with  the 
Anglo-Saxon  church.*  But  through  the  fear  of  the 
punishment  of  sin,  of  hell  and  purgatory,  the  laity 
favored  the  practice  and  established  the  influence  of 
the  Church  in  its  entire  range,  even  over  private  life 
itself.  A  certain  deepening  of  the  conception  of  sin 
was  the  consequence :  The  people  had  recourse  to  tho 
Church,  not  only  in  the  case  of  grave  sins,  but  also 

*  Wassersohleben,  Die  irische  Kiiiioiicu.saiiiiiiliiiiL,'.  L',  Aufl.,  1885.     Brun- 
ner,  Deutsche  Rechtsgesohichte  ?.,  IH8.H 


Fear  of 
Punish- 
ment. 
Kell,    I'nr- 
gatory. 


m 


!•    ' 


!      1 


it 


^1-:,^ 


'W 


Satisfac- 
tions. 


I      ,- 1 


404       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

on  account  of  tlio  "  roots  of  sin"  and  the  hidden 
faults  (ghittony,  Koxual  hist,  avarice,  anger,  humor, 
anxiety,  heartfelt  a^'orsion,  arrogance,  pride),  which 
they  now  considered  also  deadly  sins ;  however,  this 
deepening  was  counterbalanced  by  the  stupefying 
readiness  with  which  men  acknowledged  themselves 
ever  as  sinners,  and  by  the  thought  that  intercession 
and  satisfaction  possess  the  power  to  cancel  the  mer- 
ited punishment.  In  truth  men  bestowed  more 
thought  upon  punishment  and  the  remission  of  the 
same  than  upon  sin.  During  the  Carlovingian  age 
the  hierarchical  side  of  the  institution  of  penance 
was  as  yet  little  develojied,  and  the  dogmatic  theory 
still  lagged  behind ;  but  the  sa  f  is/a ct  ia ns  experienced 
a  new  development  in  connectio]i  with  the  exercise 
Prayers,     of  penaucc  ill  the  form  of  voluntary  confession :  (1 ) 

^/^T^^and"  To  the  old,  more  or  less,  arbitrary  rule>s  in  regard  to 
CcdeE.  the  choice  and  duration  of  the  compensating  })anisli- 
ment  (prayers,  alms,  lamentations,  temporary  exclu- 
sion) were  added,  in  increasing  measure,  rules  from 
the  Old  Testament  and  fi^om  tlie  (lerman  code.  The 
consequence  was  that  the  measure  of  the  compensa- 
tory punishment  itself  appeared  in   tlie  light  of  a 

o?Deat1io'f  Divinc  Ordinance,  (•^)  The  compensatory  means  were 
looked  upon  as  things  pleasing  to  God,  which  there- 
fore, if  nothing  I^tI  been  omitted,  in  themselves  es- 
tablish merits;  the  sacrificitd  dealh  of  Christ  must 
be  considered  as  the  most  efficacious;  therefore  tlie 
rehearsal  of  this  death  {pii  <ii  copiofiifas  i)i//sfen'i 
passionis)  was  the  efficacious  and  convenient  means 


t 

1 

(;' 

'      I 
*     1 

;  1 

ii 

■^^.via0i»»imim&»illt%  i 


■i' 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      405 


ill: 


idden 

Limor, 

^vhicli 

r,  this 

sfyiiig 

iselves 

session 

e  mer- 

.  more 

of  the 

an  age 

(Ciiance 

;  theory 

ricnced 

exercise 

on:  (1) 
uard  to 
punish- 
exclu- 
les  from 
D.     The 
npensa- 
\t  of  a 
IS  were 
there- 
Ivos  es- 
st  must 
fovo  the 
iiisferii 
[  means 


1 


(masses  for  he  dead);  l)esides,  one  should  gain  the 
good  will  of  the  saints  for  their  intercessions  ought 
to  he  efficacious,  since  God  can  demand  nothing  from 
them,  while  they  are  ahle  to  hring  him  vahiahle  gifts, 
(;5)  Since  the  exercises  of  penance  have  a  material 
value  hefore  God,  they  can  he  exchanged,  i.e.  lessened 
hy  a  repentant  disposition ;  here  especially  the  Church 
steps  in,  since  it  institutes  such  exchanges;  thus 
originated  a  '.vliole  system  of  indulgences,  exchanges, 
and  remissions,  to  the  estahlishing  of  which  the 
Germanic  law  contrihuted  (origin  of  indulgences; 
remissions  are  of  primitive  anticpiity),  (I)  In  addi- 
tion to  exchanges,  however,  suhstitution  is  also  pos- 
sihle ;  here  the  Germanic  law  had  a  still  stronger  in- 
fluence ;  yet  the  idea  has  also  an  ecclesiastical  root 
in  the  conception  of  Christ  and  the  saints  as  substi- 
tutes, (5)  The  consecpience  of  the  wdiole  conception 
was  that  in  the  doing  of  penance  men  sought  not  so 
much  to  reconcile  God,  the  Father,  as  much  more  to 
escape  from  God,  the  Judge !  This  soul-killing  prac- 
tice entirely  inverted  Augustinianism ;  it  had  influ- 
enced Christology  in  the  time  of  Gregory  I.,  and  it 
operated  decisively  during  the  classic  times  of  the 
Middle  Ages  upon  all  dogmas  of  ancient  standing 
and  created  new  ones. 


Ex- 
changes, 

Iiuli'lgen- 
oes,  Ke- 

missious. 


Substitu- 
tion. 


Augustin- 
ianism 
Inverted. 


I    i 


'-  '^  HI 

m 


i 


i      I 


!'|: 


406       OUTLINES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  DOGMA. 


I 


Advance 
Movement 
of  Church. 


I  ! 


:'! 


CHAPTER  VII. 

history  of  dogma  in  the  time  op  clugny, 
anselm  and  bernard  to  the  end  of  the 
12th  century. 

Reuter  a.  a.  O.  v.  Eicken,  Gesch.  u.  System  d.  MAIichen, 
Weltanschauung,  1887. 

Through  the  institution  of  penance  the  Church 
became  the  decisive  power  in  men's  lives  in  Occi- 
dental Christendom.  An  advance  movement  of  the 
Church,  therefore,  must  of  necessity  benefit  the  whole 
of  Occidental  Christendom.  This  advance  took  place 
at  the  end  of  the  1 0th  centurj''  and  continued  until 
the  13th  century,  during  which  time  the  supremacy 
of  the  Church  and  the  mediaeval  ecclesiastical  con- 
ception of  the  world  attained  their  perfection.  If 
chriatmn-  one  regards  Christianity  as  doctriney  the  Middle 
^r'^Life?  Ages  appear  almost  like  a  supplement  to  the  history 
of  the  ancient  Church ;  if  one  regards  it  as  Z^/e,  then 
ancient  Christianity  only  attained  its  full  develop- 
ment in  the  mediaeval  Occidental  Church.  In  the 
ancient  ago  the  motives,  standards  and  ideas  of 
ancient  life  confronted  the  Church  as  barriers.  It 
was  never  able  to  overcome  these  barriers,  as  is 
shown  by  the  Greek  Church :  Monasticism  stands  by 
the  side  of  the  Church ;  the  earthly  Church  is  the  old 
world  supplemented  by  Christian  etiquette.  But  the 
Occidental  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  able  to 
carry  out  much  more  securely  its  peculiar  standards 


Monasti- 
cism. 


Mil 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      407 

of  inoukitili  asceticism  and  of  the  domination  of  this 
life  by  the  one  beyond,  because  it  did  not  have  an 
old  cultus  alongside  of  it.  Gradually  it  gathered 
strength  so  as  to  be  a])le  finally  to  enlist  into  its  ser- 
vice even  the  old  enemy,  Aristotelian  science,  and  to 
transform  the  same  into  an  instrument  of  power.  It 
made  all  the  elements  of  life  and  knowledge  subject 
to  itself.  The  inner  strength  of  its  activity  was  the 
Augustinian-ascetic  piety,  which  broke  forth  in  ever 
new  creations  of  rnonasticism;  the  outer  power  was 
the  Roman  pope,  who,  as  the  successor  of  Peter, 
secured  for  himself  both  Christ's  right  and  that  of 
the  Roman  Caesars. 


1.    The  Revival  of  Piety. 

Harnack,  Das  Monchthuni,  3.  Aufl.,  1886.  Neander,  d.  h. 
Bernard  (hrsg.  v.  Deutsch,  1889).  Iliiffer,  d.  h.  Bernard  I., 
1886.     Ritschl,  i.  d.  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1870,  S.  817  f. 

From  Quedlinburg  (Matilda)  and  Clugny  the  re- 
vival of  piety  had  its  rise.  The  Gregorian  popes, 
the  "  new  congregations"  and  Bernard  enforced  it ; 
the  laity  received  it  more  readily  than  the  worldly 
clergy,  upon  whom  it  made  greater  demands.  It  is 
most  plainly  represented  by  the  crusade  enthusiasm 
and  by  the  founding  of  innumerable  convents. 
Strict  discipline  in  the  convents,  monkish  regula- 
tion of  the  secular  clergy,  the  domination  of  the 
monkish-regulated  Church  over  the  laity,  princes 
and  nations — these  were  its  aims.     Upon  this  found- 


i  m 


Quedlin- 

burg  and 

Clugny. 


I      I 


!•:.« 


i.. 


11' 


i  ,■' 


Flight 

from  the 

World. 


Picture  of 
Christ. 


408      OUTLINES   OF   THE  HISTOHY^   OF  DOrjMA. 

atiun  alono  it  ai)i)eare(l  possible  to  croato  a  truly 
Christian,  i.e.  an  unworldly  life.  The  whole  tem- 
poral life  should  serve  the  life  hereafter:  Supremo 
effort  of  the  world  dominion  of  the  Church  to  gain 
the  most  perfect  victory  over  the  world,  i.e.  escape 
from  the  world.  Freedom  from  the  world  appeared 
possible  only  under  the  condition  of  universal  do- 
minion. Many  monks  also  permitted  themselves  to 
be  blinded  by  this  dialectics,  who  felt  the  contradic- 
tion between  the  aim  and  the  means,  and  preferred 
for  themselves  the  direct  way  of  popularizing  flight 
from  the  world  by  fleeing  from  the  world.  But  the 
Church  was  indeed  also  God's  state  and  not  simply 
the  bestower  of  individual  bliss!  Therefore  did  it 
incite  the  courageous  to  battle  against  Simonistic 
princes  and  worldly  clericals.  To  perfectly  exemplify 
the  difficult  trait  of  a  renunciation  of  the  world, 
the  German  and  the  Romance  peoples  were  still  too 
youthful.  The  violent  disposition  toward  the  con- 
quest of  the  world  united  with  this  and  produced 
that  strange  frame  of  mind,  in  which  the  conscious- 
ness of  strength  alternated  like  a  flash  with  humility, 
longing  after  enjoyment  with  resignation,  cruelty 
with  sentimentality.  Men  desired  nothing  from 
this  world,  they  desired  only  heaven,  and  yet  they 
wis^^ed  to  own  this  beautiful  earth. 

At  first  religious  individualism  was  not  as  yet 
kindled  (yet  take  note  of  the  heresies  which  found 
access  in  the  11th  century,  partly  imported  from  the 
Orient — Bogomils — partly   springing    up    spontane- 


DRVELOPMP^.NT   OV   DOf'TRINE  OF  SIN,  KTC.       tO!) 

ously),  still  r/.s'/o//.s-  wore  brought  back  from  tliu  Holy 
Land    cnisado    for    which    indulgences    had    been 
granted.     The  jj/c^i^re  of  Christ  was  recovered  and 
piety  was  enlivened  by  the  most  vivid  representa- 
tions of  the  suffering  and   dying   Redeemer:    We 
should  follow  him  in  every  step  of  his  passion  jour- 
ney.    Accordingly  in  place  of  the  defunct "  adoption- 
ism",  the  man  Jesus  camo  again  to  the  front  and 
negative  asceticism  received  a  i)ositive  form  and  a 
new,  fixed  aim.     The  cords  of   Christie-mysticism, 
which  Augustine  had  struck  only  with   uncertainty 
grew  into  a  rapturous  melody.     By  the  side  of  the 
sacramental   Christ   stepped  —  penance  formed  the 
medium — the  image  of  the  historical  Christ  sublime 
in  his  humility,  innocent,  suffering  punishment,  life 
in  death.     It   is  impossible  to  estimate  the  effects 
which  this  piety,  newly  induced  through  the  "  Ecce 
homo",  had,  and  in  how  many  forms  it  has  developed. 
St.   Bernard    first  gave  it  a   strong  and    effective 
form;  he  was  the  religious  genius  of  the  12th  cen- 
tury,  and  therefore  also  the  leader  of  the  epoch — 
Aucjustinus  recUvivus,  at  the  same  time  however 
the  most  powerful  ecclesiastic.     In  so  far  as  Bernard 
offers  a  system  of  thought  and  portrays  the  gradual 
progress  of  love  {caritas  and  hnmilitas)  even  to  ex- 
cess, he  revived  Augustine.     His  language  is  deter- 
mined by  that  of  the  "  Confessions".     But  in  passion- 
ate love  for  Christ  he  went  beyond  Augustine.    "  Ven- 
eration for  that  which  is  beneath  us ',  for  suffering 
and  humility  (devotion),  dawned  upon  him  as  never 


ChHstlc- 
Mysticism. 


Bernard 
Relipious 
Ot'Dius  of 
12th  Cen- 
tury. 


w 


1' 

\\ 

1      ! 

i 

' 

■  ; 

' 

'"i 
1 

I) 

1  ■  1 

i: 

' '  I 

f- 

! 

\ 

i 

i 

i  ■ 

i 


"1;.. 


=1;  ^' 

:' 

;  '  , 

-  s 

410       OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


^1 


iii  1 


K:M 


M'-:', 


Song  of 

Songs  and 

Crusadt'. 


Christie 
Mysticism 
and  Lyric- 
ism. 


Bernard 

Revered 

as  Prophet. 


before  upon  any  Christian.  Pie  venerated  the  rross, 
shame  and  death  as  the  form  of  the  Divine  appearing 
upon  earth.  The  study  of  the  Song  of  Songs  and 
the  crusade  enthusiasm  conducted  him  before  the 
image  of  the  crucified  Redeemer,  the  Bridegroom  of 
the  soul.  Into  his  image  ho  sunk  himself;  from  it 
there  beamed  for  him  true  love  and  shone  the  living 
truth.  To  him  the  sensuousncss  of  the  contemplation 
of  Christ's  wounds  melted  into  spiritual  exaltation, 
which,  however,  always  rested  upon  the  foundation 
of  the  ecclesiastical  system  of  penance.  Bernard 
united  the  Neo-Platonic  exercises  of  ascent  unto  God 
with  the  contemplation  of  the  crucified  Redeemer 
and  unfettered  the  subjectiveness  of  the  Christic-inys- 
ticism  and  Christie-lyricism.  This  contemplation 
led  him  in  his  sermons  on  the  Song  of  Songs  to  a 
self- judgment,  which  not  infrequently  gains  the 
height  of  Paulino  and  Lutheran  faith  unto  salvation 
{"non  modi  Justus  sed  et  beat  as,  cut  non  imputabit 
deus  peccatnnr).  But,  on  the  other  side,  he  also 
had  to  pay  the  tribute  of  all  mysticism,  not  only  in 
so  far  as  the  feeling  of  especial  exaltation  alternated 
with  that  of  cd)andonment,  but  also  in  his  not  being 
able  to  ward  off  a  pantheistic  tendency.  Like  Origen, 
Bernard  also  taught  that  it  was  necessary  to  rise 
from  the  Christ  in  the  flesh  to  the  Christ  ^ara 
Tzveufia,  that  the  historical  is  a  step.  This  trait  has 
clung  to  all  mysticism  since  his  time;  mysticism  has 
learned  from  Bernard,  whom  men  reverenced  as  a 
prophet  and  apostle,  the  Christ-contemplation;  but 


■til 


Auffiis- 
tinc's  View 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   DOCTRINE  OF  SIN,  ETC.      411 

at  tho  same  time  it  has  adopted  his  pantheistic^ 
trend.  The  ^^excede re  et  cum  CIrrisfo  r.s.sY^"  means, 
that  in  the  arms  of  the  Bridegroom  tho  soul  ceases 
to  be  an  individual  self.  But  where  the  soul  is  merged 
in  the  Divinity,  the  Divinity  is  dissolved  into  tho 
All-in-One. 

Immeasurable  for  Christology  has  the  significance 
of  the  new  vision  of  Christ  been.  The  scheme  of  the  i'*-'^"-'*^'''- 
two  natures  was  indeed  retained,  yet  there  was  in 
truth  by  the  side  of  the  sacramental  Christ  a  second 
Christ,  the  man  Jesus^  whose  sent inient,  sufferings^ 
and  deeds  portrayed  and  propagated  Divine  life. 
He  is  prototype  and  power ;  his  death  sacrifice,  also, 
is  the  Pacrifice  of  the  man,  in  whom  God  was.  Thus 
the  Augustinian  conception,  already  inaugurated  by 
Ambrose,  attained  here  its  perfection.  In  the  second 
half  of  the  12th  century  this  new  piety  (love,  suffer- 
ing, humility)  was  a  mighty  power  in  the  Church. 
But  as  Bernard  represented  in  himself  the  contrast 
between  the  world  of  pious  Christian  sentiment 
and  the  hierarchical  policy  of  the  world-dominat 
ing  Church,  so  also  most  believers,  naively  attached 
to  the  Church,  considered  the  ideals  of  worldly 
power  and  of  humility  reconcilable.  As  yet  the 
great  beggar  of  Assisi  had  not  stepped  forth,  whose 
appearance  was  destined  to  create  a  crisis  in  the  tur- 
bulence of  flight  from  the  world  and  dominion  over 
the  world;  still  at  the  end  of  the  12th  century  there 
already  hovered  about  the  Church  angry  curses  of 
"  heretics"  who  recognized  in  its  secular  rule  and  in 


Love,  Suf- 
fering, Hu- 
mility. 


-:!!■ 


f 


!    J 


Ih;^! 


•ti:.i 

.     1 

iii 

ill 


'ni\  i 


412       orTUNES   OF  TTIR   IIISTOIIY   ()V    DOr.MA. 

the  HiiUi  1)1*  its  (lispoiisatioiiH  of  graco  tho  traits  of  the 
oM  ])jil)('l,  and  Bernard  himself  warned  tho  poj)es. 


m  < 


Hi 


r; 


' ,  i 


I « 


Isidori'im 
Decrt'tals. 


Clugny, 

Gregory 

VII. 


2.   On  (lie  Tlislor//  of  Krclcsidstical  Law. 

V.  Scliultc,  (icsch  (1.  (^Mclliii  (1.  KirclK'iu'c'clits  I.  n  II. 
Iliiiscliius,  Kiitliol.  Kirchcniccht.  Dcnillc,  Univers.  d.  MA., 
ISS.").      Kuul'iuiiiin,   (u'sch.  tl.  dcutchcn  L'liiv.  I.,  1^88. 

All  that  had  over  been  claimed  by  popes  appeared 
gatliered  together  in  th(5  great  I'alsilication  of  Pseudo- 
Isidore  and  was  rei)resented  as  aneient  i)apal  latr:  The 
independence  of  tho  Church  and  its  organs  as  regards 
tho  laity,  and  the  papal  supremacy  over  the  bishops 
and  the  national  churches.  Upon  tho  foundation  of 
Pseudo-Isidore  the  popes  of  later  times  built.  To 
them  it  was  not  a  (juestion  of  theology,  but,  as  Ro- 
mans, of  the  perfection  of  the  Imr,  which  they  had 
obtained  for  themselves  as  a  Divine  law.  In  the 
contest  between  emperor  and  pope  tho  question  was 
as  to  which  should  be  the  real  rector  of  the  state  of 
God,  and  as  to  whom  the  bishops  should  be  subject. 
The  reformed  papacy  was  developed  under  the  im- 
pulse of  Clugny  and  Gregory  VII.  into  an  autocratic 
power  in  the  Church  and  formulated  its  legislation 
accordingly  through  numberless  decretals,  after  hav- 
ing freed  itself  in  Rome  from  the  last  remnants  of 
older  constitutional  conditions.  Allied  with  the 
best  men  of  the  times  the  popes  of  the  12th  century, 
having  obtained  the  investiture,  began  to  design  a 
new  ecclesiastical  law.     The  decretals    took  their 


ti 


Kumuti'd. 


DKVKhOPMKNT   Ol''    IKX'TIMNK    OK   SIN,   KTC.       113 

|)la('0  by  tho  side  of  tlio  old  cmioiis,  oven  hy  tlio  sido 
of  tho  docToes  of  the  old  coiiiicils.  Still,  strictly 
taken,  tlu'ir  authority  as  yet  rcniaiiu'd  uiicortaiii. 

Tho  i)a[)a('y  whilo  dcvolopin^'  into  a  jurisdictional  ]*|i^v";'„'"i|! 
supremo  court  would  never  have  been  able  to  g.iiu 
tho  mouarchial  leadership  as  regards  fjiith  ajid  mor- 
als in  tho  Church,  which  is  in(1c(>d  coimnuniou  of 
faith  and  cult,  had  not  in  this  period  the  amalgama- 
tion of  doffiiia  and  /a//* become  perfect.  In  Itome  it- 
self the  form  of  tho  dogmatic  retreated  completely 
behind  that  of  tho  law  (/cc  </c/),  and  the  (lermano- 
Romance  nations  at  first  were  defenc(,'U;ss ;  for  tho 
Church  had  onco  come  to  them  as  lioman  law  and 
order.  The  great  popes  wow  moidvs  and  jurists. 
The  juristic-scientific  treatment  of  all  functions  of 
the  Church  bocamo  the  highest  aim.  Tho  study  of 
law  exercised  an  inunense  influence  upon  the 
thoughtful  contemplation  of  tlu;  Church  in  all  its 
length  and  breadth.  That  which  formerly  had 
been  evolved  under  constraining  influences,  viz.,  tho 
Church  as  a  legal  institute,  now  became  strength- 
ened or  developed  by  thought.  Tlio  spirit  of  juris- 
prudence, which  s[)read  over  the  fa  th  of  the  Church, 
began  also  to  subordinate  to  itself  the  traditional 
dogmas.     Here  scholasticism  had  a  strong  root;  but  Auctoritas 

o  "  '  aiKl  Ratio. 

one  must  not  forget  that  since  Tertullian  the  Occi- 
dental dogmas  were  prepared  for  a  juristic;  treatment, 
out  of  which  they  partly  origijiated.  Ujxni  ((uctor- 
itas  and  ratio  the  dialectics  of  the  jurists  is  founded. 
It  also  belongs  to  the  great  contrasts  of  the  Middle 


Pnpw, 

Monks  and 

Jurists. 


it 


1,  :  !, 


' 


^lli 


''■:»l 


V:\\ 


414       OUTMNKS  OK  TIIK   Ifl  ;T()KY   OK  I)0(iMA. 

Agos, — Bornardiiio  piotyand  Roman  jiiriHtio  think- 
ing. In  this  way  tlio  (.hiirch  was  to  lx)como  a 
court  of  law,  a  niorchant  houst)  and  a  robbers'  den. 
But  in  this  epoch  it  still  stood  at  the  begiuniug  of 
the  devolopmeut. 


ScholiiKti- 
ciam. 


3.   The  Revival  of  Science. 

Ilislorios  of  Philosophy  l)y  tlborweg,  Enlmann,  Stockl. 
Gesch.  (lor  Logik  v.  Pmntl,  Bd.  II. -IV.  Router  a.  a.  O. 
NitZHch,  i.  d.  RE^  XIII.  S..  OoO  IT.  Donillo  a.  a.  ().  Kauf- 
mauu,  a.  a.  O.  Lowe,  Kainpf  Zwi'ischcii  d.  Nomiual.  u. 
Realism.  1H70.     Doutsch,  P.  Aholard.  1883. 

Scholasticism  was  the  science  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
In  it  there  were  strikingly  displayed  the  power  of  the 
thinking  faculties  and  an  energy  capable  of  reduc- 
ing everything  real  and  valuable  to  thought,  such 
as  perhaps  no  other  age  offers,  l^ut  scholasticism  is 
in  truth  thinking  "  from  the  very  centre  outward  ", 
for  while  the  scholastics  always  went  back  to  first 
principles,  these  were  not  gained  from  experience 
and  real  history,  though  in  the  course  of  the  develop- 
ment of  modia3val  science  increasing  regard  was  paid 
Diaiec-  to  experience.  Auctoritas  und  >'«//o(dialectical-de- 
Deductive    ductivc  method)  dominate  scholasticism,  which  dif- 

Method.  '  _  ' 

ered  from  the  old  theology,  in  that  the  authority  of 
the  dogma  and  the  practice  of  the  Church  were  more 
firmly  adjusted,  and  in  that  men  no  longer  lived  in 
the  philosophy  (the  antique)  which  went  with  it,  but 
added  the  same  from  without.  Its  principal  presup- 
position was  drawn — at  least  until  the  time  of  its 


DEVKhoPMKNT   OK    DOCTKINE   OF    SIN,  KTC.       115 

dissolution — from  tho  thesis,  that  all  tiling's  must  }m> 
underHtood  from  thcoloyi/  ami  t)»at  thorcforo  also  all 
things  must  bo  traced  back  to  llicohx/!/.  Tiiis  thesis 
presupposes  that  tlu*  thinker  himself  is  sensible?  of 
his  full  dependence  upon  God.  Piety  therefore 
is  the  presupposition  of  m(»dian-al  science.  Hut  in 
tho  nature  of  tho  mi'diieval  piety  itself  lies  tho 
foundation  for  that  contemplation  which  leads  to 
this  science;  for  piety  is  the  advancing  knowledge 
obtained  by  constant  retU^ction  upon  the  relation  of 
tho  soul  to  God.  Tlivrcfinc  scjiohisf ici.siu,  since  if 
deduces  all  th/n(/s  from  (tod  niul  (((/((in  eontjtrisefi 
them  in  luin,  is  piehi  become  coitseions  oud  mani- 
fest. On  that  account  it  does  not  dill'er  in  its  root 
from  mysticism;  the  diU'erenco  consists  only  lierein, 
that  in  scholasticism  the  knowledge'  of  tiie  world  in 
its  relation  to  God  gains  a  more  independi'iit,  objec- 
tive interest  and  the  theological  doctrines  are,  if  pos- 
sible, to  be  proven;  while  in  mysticism  the  retlectivo 
trend  of  the  process  of  knowledge  (for  the  increase 
of  one's  own  l)iety)  comes  out  more  strongly, 
In  the  former,  as  a  rule,  more  use  is  made  of  dia- 
lectics, in  the  latter  of  intuition  and  inward  experi- 
ence. But  the  theology  of  Thomas,  for  example,  can 
also  according  to  its  end  and  aim  unhesitatingly  be 
designated  as  mysticism  and,  vice  versa,  there  are 
theologians,  who  from  custom  are  cfdled  mystics, 
but  who  in  the  strength  of  their  desire  to  know 
the  world  and  to  understand  correctly  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church  do  not  lag  behind  the  so-called  scho- 


I'irty  Ou" 

I'l'l-HllplXH 

Hitimi  of 

Ki'llolHHti- 

cituu. 


Scholatiti- 

(ism  is 

S.'lf- 

C<  nwjioiiH 

IMoty. 


Tlioology 
of   Tliouias 
is  Mystical. 


w 


|! 


i 


il! 


■i'] 


1 1 


i; 


, 


1 1:!.. 


I' 


Mysticism 

is  tliP 
Practic<;  of 
Scholasti- 
cism. 


Inlieri- 

tancd  of 

the  3Iiddle 

Ages. 


John  of 
Damascuts. 


Boethins 

and 
Isidore. 


4J0        OUTLINES   OP   THE    HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

lastics.  The  aim  not  only  is  tiie  same  (mysticism  is 
the  practice  of  scholasticism),  but  the  means  are 
also  the  same  (the  authoritative  dogma  ot  the  Church, 
spiritual  experience,  the  traditional  philosophy,). 
The  difficulties  which  at  first  made  their  appearance 
in  medieval  science  were  therefore  r(»moved,  after 
men  had  learned  the  art  of  subordinating  the  dia- 
lectic metliud  to  the  traditional  dogma  and  to  the 
thirst  for  piety. 

The  Middle  Ages  received  from  the  old  Church 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  essentially  com])leted  dogma, 
the  theology  which  led  to  this  dogma,  and  a  treasure 
of  classical  literature  loosely  connected  -with  this 
theology  and  th"'  philosophico-metliodical  doctrines. 
With  these  additions  to  the  dogma  elements  wjre 
transmitted,  which  were  hostile  to  the  dogma,  or  at 
kv^st  threatened  to  become  so  (yco-Platonism  and 
Aristotelianism).  In  the  theology  of  J  .'lu  of  Damas- 
cus the  attempt  was  made  to  reconcile  scientifically 
everything  that  was  contradictory,  but  the  Occident 
could  not  thereby  be  spared  the  work  of  adjustment. 
During  the  Carlovingian  age  the  strength  of  the  Oc- 
cident was  still  too  weak  to  work  independently  upon 
the  capital  it  had  inherited.  A  few  theologians 
made  themselves  at  home  with  Augustine,  still  this 
undertaking  was  already  followed,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  a  partial  crisis, — others  clothed  themselves  in  the 
foreign  garment  of  the  classical  authors;  in  the 
schools  they  loarned  from  the  writings  of  Boetliius  an'l 
Isidore  ^\\q  rudiments  of  the  dialectical  method  and  a 


'      '' 


)giaiis 
I  this 

seen, 
in  tlie 
in  the 
IS  ;in<l 

and  a 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,    ETC.     417 


Scotus 
Erigena. 


Gerbert 
of  Rheims. 


mild  use  of  the  ratio.  No  theologian  except  Scotus 
Erigena  was  independent.  As  soon  a-o  they  became 
more  self-conscious,  they  rejected  the  kncnvledge  of 
nature,  the  devil's  mistress,  and  antiquity.  Indeed 
as  a  formal  means  of  culture  they  could  not  do  with- 
out these,  and  dialecticism,  that  is,  that  method 
which  first  exposes  contradictions  in  order  to  recon- 
cile them,  made  an  increasing  impression.  From 
the  Carlovingian  age  there  runs  through  the  learned 
schools  a  chain  of  scientific  tradition  as  far  down  as 
into  the  11  th  century.  But  Gerbertof  Rheims  did 
not  as  yet  bring  it  to  an  epochal  climax ;  the  theo- 
logical dialecticians  did  so  first  after  the  middle  of 
that  century.  Already  at  that  time  the  principal 
philosophico-theological  question  of  the  future  was 
considered,  viz.  wl^ether  the  conceptions  of  iipecies 
exist  respecting  things  or  within  things,  c>r  whether 
the  same  are  merely  abstractions  (Boethius  in  Por- 
phyry, realism  and  nominalism).  The  ecclesiastical 
instinct  of  self-preservation  turned  toward  realism, 
which  mysticism  demanded.  When  Roscellin  in  Rosceiun 
consequence  of  his  nominalism  arrived  at  the  con- 
sequent tritheism,  both  he  and  his  way  of  tiiinking 
were  rejected  as  heretical  (lO!)'.^).  In  the  1 1th  cen- 
tury the  dialecticians  were  viewed  with  grpat  dis- 
trust. Indeed  they  frequently  not  only  attacked  the 
coarse  superstition  in  religion  and  the  barbarian  way 
of  thinking,  but  they  also  jeopardized  orthodoxy,  or 
rathei  what  was  thought  to  be  orthodoxy.  But  "en- 
lighteners"  they  were  not.     Lc»ukiiig  at  tlieni  more 


t 

i    ' 

11 

1 

i 
i 

I    f 


:,      ! 


hi  \A 
I   ^'1 


;  ^' 


lit 


■it 


I '  • 


',! 


-f-- 


■  ;■    ,     , 

^       ; 

f 

[  ■'-• 

i' 

\l 

i  "' 

S' 

':   ''ti 

i  !;!.:• 


iJiiy;' 


;i^ 


If 


Scicrif*. 
Om-n.lK 
Faith. 


418       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

closely,  oven  the  boldest  of  them  stood  upon  the  basis 
of  the  Church,  or,  at  any  rate,  were  bound  to  the 
same  by  a  hundred  ties.  True,  every  science,  even 
the  most  trammelled,  will  always  find  within  itself 
an  element  offensive  to  that  faith  which  longs  for 
peace;  it  will  display  a  freshness  and  joyfulness, 
which  to  devotion  will  jippear  like  boldness ;  it  will 
never  be  able,  even  when  it  agrees  with  the  Church 
in  end  and  aim,  to  disclaim  a  negative  tendency,  be- 
cause it  will  always  rightl}'  find,  that  the  principles 
of  the  Church  in  the  concrete  expression  of  life  have 
deteriorated  and  have  been  marred  by  superstition 
and.  inclination.  Thus  was  it  also  at  that  time;  but 
as  the  revival  of  science  was  a  consequence  of  the 
revival  of  the  Church,  so  the  Church  also  finally 
recognized  in  theology  its  own  life. 

B}'  the  elevation  of  science  tlii'ee  results  were  ob- 
tained: (1)  A  deeper  insight  into  the  Neo-Platonic- 
Augustinian  principles  of  theology  as  a  w^liole,  {'Z) 
A  higher  virtuosity  in  the  art  of  dialectical  analj^sis 
and  rational  demonstration,  (•'>)  An  increasing  occu- 
pation with  the  Church  fathers  and  the  ancient 
philosophers.  The  danger  of  this  deeper  insight 
was  a  non-cosmicomystical  pantheism,  and  the  more 
naively  men  devoted  themselves  to  realism,  the 
Dangers,  greater  was  the  danger.  The  danger  of  dialecticism 
consisted  in  the  dissolution  of  the  dogma  instead  of 
the  proof  of  them ;  the  danger  of  the  intercourse  with 
the  ancient  philosoi)hers  lay  in  the  reduction  of  his- 
torical Christianity  to  cosmopolitanism,  to  a    mere 


Revival    of 

Science ; 

Three 

Ilesults. 


m 


basis 
o  the 

even 

itself 
;s   for 
ilness, 
it  will 
Iliurch 
:y,  be- 
iciples 
e  have 
■stition 
le;  but 

of  the 

finally 

ere  ob- 

itonic- 

ole,  i'Z) 

nalysis 

occu- 
ancient 
insiglit 
le  more 
m,  the 
cticism 
tcacl  of 
se  with 

of  his- 
a   mere 


DEVELOPMENT    OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.       Ill) 

general  philosophy  of  religion  upon  the  soil  of  the 
neutralized  history.  Till  the  end  of  the  l-3th  century 
there  was  as  yet  no  real  philosophy  alongside  of  theo- 
logy; in  so  far  as  anything  of  the  kind  existed,  it 
was  feared,  and  thus  it  happe?ied  that  the  danger  al- 
luded to  under  "  (•>.')"  (Berengar  and  his  friends)  was 
first  felt.  The  danger  alluded  to  under  "(1)"  was 
the  least  noticed,  since  Ansehn,  the  greatest  theo- 
logian before  Thomas,  whose  orthodoxy  was  above 
question,  moved  about  most  unconcernedly  among 
the  Neo-Platonic-Augistinian  prniciples.  Perhaps 
he  would  ha^^e  soon  brought  the  dialectical  science, 
which  he  knew  how  to  use  with  authority,  to  full 
honors,  and  have  made  credible  the  reconcilableness 
of  mysticism  {meditailo)  with  reason,  of  authorita- 
tive faith  with  ratio  {credo,  nt  inteUujaui,  on  the 
one  side,  rationahili  necessitate  intelligere  esse 
oportere  omnia  ilia,  quae  nobis  Jides  catholica  de 
Christo  credere  praecipit,  on  the  other  side),  had 
not  some  of  his  pupils,  like  Willi,  von  Champeaux, 
drawn  some  of  the  dangerous  consequences  of  Pla- 
tonic realism  (the  one  passive  substance,  the  natural 
phenomena  as  mere  semblance),  and  had  not  in 
Abelard  a  bold  scientific  t;d<.^jit  appeared,  which  could 
not  but  terrify  the  churchmen.  In  Abehird  the  trait 
of  the  "enlightener"  is  not  entirely  wanting;  but  he 
was  more  bolc^  than  consequential,  and  his  "  ration- 
alism" had  its  limitativ)ns  in  the  acknowledgment  of 
revelation.  Nevertheless  he  oi)p()sed  faith  in  mere 
authority,  yet  by  no  means  at  all  points ;  he  wanted 


I! 


Wilh.  von 
Cham 
peaux. 


Abolanl. 


!l  \ 


I 


420       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


1^ 


i:   1 


l;l'- 


^l:-'.' 


Sic  et  Non. 


to  know  what  ho  believed,  and  ho  wanted  to  show 
how  unsafe  and  contradictory  was  the  uncontrolled 
orthodoxy  and  the  tradition  which  pretended  to 
be  infallible  {"Sic  et  iS'o/i").  Thus  he  looked 
upon  the  foundations  of  faith  just  as  he  looked  upon 
the  theological  points  represented  in  the  dogma.  His 
opponents,  above  all  Bernard,  considered  his  doctrine 
of  the  trinity  and  the  whole  method  of  his  science 
(which  indeed  with  him  and  his  pupils  often  degen- 
erated into  a  formalistic  art  of  disputation  and  was 
coupled  with  unbearable  arrogance)  foreign  and 
heretical;  they  therefore  condemned  him.  They  did 
not  at  all  observe  that  the  questionable  sentences  of 
the  bold  innovator  originated  in  part  from  theClmrch 
fathers  and  in  part  were  the  conso(|uences  of  that  mys- 
tical doctrine  of  God,  which  they  themselves  shared 
(thus  his  conception  of  histor}^  which  seems  to  neu- 
tralize historical  Christianity  in  favor  of  Greek  phil- 
osophy ;  compare  Justin) .  It  is  still  more  paradoxical 
that  Abelard,  even  while  on  the  one  side  drav/ing 
these  consequences,  on  tlie  other  introduced  a  kind  of 
"  conceptualism"  in  the  place  of  realism,  granted  to 
sober  thought  a  material  inliuonce  upon  the  contem- 
plation of  fundamental  principles,  rejected  the  pan- 
theistic deductions  of  the  current  orthodoxy  and  thus 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  classical  expression  of 
Ecvit'sias-  nicdiceval  conservative  theoloqii.  The  ecclesiastical 
^mamitS*^'  ^^^^o^i^^^  demanded  realism,  but  was  not  able  to  be  re- 
tea  igm.  |.^j^(^j  jj-^  fliought  under  the  complete  dominion  of 
the  mystical,  Neo- Platonic  theology.     A  lowering  of 


ring 
nd  of 
1  to 
;om- 
paii- 
thus 
iiof 
ticLil 
■36  re- 
)ii  of 
ng  of 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE  OP   SIN,  ETC.      421 

the  Platonic  celestial  flight  was  needed,  therefore  of 
"  Aristotelisni",  as  the  latter  was  understood  and 
used  at  that  time,  namely,  that  view  of  tilings  ac- 
cording to  which  whatever  apj^ears  and  is  creature- 
like is  not  the  transitory  form  of  the  Divine,  but  the 
supernatural  God  as  creator  has,  in  the  real  sense  of 
the  word,  called  f(jrtli  the  creature  and  endowed  the 
same  with  independence.  With  this  view  Ahelard 
began  anew",  and  much  of  that  which  at  his  time  pro- 
voked opposition  afterward  became  orthodox.  Yet  it 
was  his  own  faidt,  the  fault  of  his  character,  the  want 
of  clearness  in  the  positions  which  he  assumed,  and 
the  fault  of  his  many  heterodoxies,  that  he  did  not 
break  through.  With  Bernard  and  the  mystics  ho 
brought  science  into  such  discredit  that  the  next  gen- 
eration of  theologians  had  a  difficult  footing.  The 
"  sentences"  of  Peter  Lombard,  v.diich  with  a  certain 
scientific  freedom  gather  together  the  patristic  tradi- 
tion, oi^inion  and  contrary  opinion,  and  which  give 
a  judicious  review  of  doctrine  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Church,  came  near  being  condemned  (1104,  1170). 
Walther  of  St.  Victor  zealously  opposed  him  and 
Abelard  as  well.  But  the  task  of  theology,  to  fur- 
nish a  review  of  the  whole  territory  of  dogmatics  and 
to  think  everything  out,  once  undertaken,  could  no 
longer  be  put  aside,  and  in  the  carrying  out  of  this 
task  the  followers  of  Abelard  and  of  Bernard  drew 
nearer  to  each  other.  Moreover,  the  intercourse 
with  Jews  and  Mohammedans  demanded  an  intel- 
ligent   apologetics.      Hugo    St.    Victor,     however. 


Al)t>Iard's 
Dotects. 


Peter 
Lombard. 


Ill 


ITiiK"  St. 
Victor. 


422       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 

who  liad  Lilreudy  intluencecl  the  followers  of  Lom- 
bard, contributed  most  toward  miiting  the  tenden- 
^^wanelf^^  cies.  Tlio  iiow  picty,  even  with  its  latest  require- 
ments, exercises,  and  means  of  devotion,  died  out 
gradually,  though  not  entirely,  during  the  second 
half  of  the  12th  century,  together  with  the  dialectical 
science.  Yonder  implicit  faith,  here  boldness  were 
rejected,  with  which,  hovv'ever,  many  a  fresh  truth 
was  lost.  This  occurred  under  the  overwhelming  im- 
pressions made  by  the  Church,  radiant  in  its  victor- 
ies. Her  lauj  in  life  and  doctrine  became  the  most 
worthy  object  of  investigation  and  exposition.  With 
this  aim  was  blended  another — that  of  referring  all 
things  back  to  God,  and  of  construing  knowledge  of 
Patristi-  the  world  as  theology.  However,  it  was  only  in  the 
""^etc!'^'"'  course  of  the  loth  century  that  patristicism,  ecclesi- 
asticism,  mystic  theology  and  Aristotelianism  be- 
came consolidated  into  powerful  systems.  The  dog- 
matical works  of  the  12tli  century — except,  perhaps, 
the  works  of  Hugo — still  bear  the  stamp  of  aggrega- 
tion. Thought,  if  it  wished  to  be  more  than  repro- 
duction and  meditation,  was  still  looked  upon  with 
suspicion. 

4.   Work  upon  the  Dogma. 

Among  the  number  of  theological  disputes  and 
separate  condemnations,  the  controversy  with  Ber- 
engar  concerning  the  eucharist  and  Anselm's  new 
conception  of  the  doctrine  of  atonement  acquired 
prominence.      These  alone  mark  a  progress  in  the 


Berengar 

ana 
ADselm. 


v.Tsy. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC".      4:23 

hiBtoiy  of  dogma,   which   during   this   period   was 
otherwise  not  onric^^.ed. 

A.   The  Beremjar  Controrcrsfj. 

Bacli,  a.  .1.  O.  I.  Router  a.  a.  O.  Siulendorf,  I3oro:,gai"ius, 
1800.  Sc'hwahc,  Stud.  z.  (Jcsch,  d.  "J.  Abemlmahlsstrcits, 
1887.     Schnitzler,  B.  v.  Tours.  189(». 

The  second  controversy  regarding  the  eucharist  i"ii<iiiuis 
has,  aside  from  the  theological,  also  a  philosophical 
and  ecclesiastico-political  interest.  The  latter  may 
rest  here.  Berengar,  a  pupil  of  Fidbert  of  Chartres, 
was  the  first  dialectician,  who,  full  of  confidence  in 
the  art  which  he  thought  to  be  identical  witli  reason, 
turned  against  an  ecclesiastical  superstition  which 
had  very  nearly  become  a  dogma.  A  criticism  of 
the  dogma  of  the  eucharist,  however,  was,  in  consid- 
eration of  the  prominent  standing  of  this  doctrine,  a 
criticism  of  the  ruling  ecclesiastical  doctrine  in  gen- 
eral. Not  as  a  negative  "enlightener",  but  to  op- 
pose a  bad  custom  by  true  tradition,  and  at  the  same 
time  also  to  let  his  light  shine,  Berengar  wrote  (sum- 
ming up  in  the  v/ork,  dc  sacrci  coeiia  adr.  Lanfrdu- 
ciim,  1073)  and  founded  a  school.  He  saw  in  the 
ruling  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  a  want  of  rea- 
son, and  he  revived  the  Augustinian  doctrine  of  the 
eucharist  (like  Ratramnus,  whose  book,  however,  was 
considered  as  belonging  to  Scotus  Erigena,  fmd  as  such 
was  condemned  at  Vercelli,  1050),  in  order  to  restore 
the  ^oY'.xij  Xarpeia  and  to  combat  the  barbarous  passion 
for  mysteries.     Berengar  opened  the  controversy  with 


ami 
Lanfrauc. 


ll 


{   I 


n 


;ltl  !' 


:      !l 


,.'ii;>! 


i;; 


m 


ii!!:i''!i!!. 


Con- 
demued. 


424        OUTLINES   OF  THK   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA 

a  letter  to  Laiifrane  and  showed  tliat  the  aeceptaiice 
of  a  bodily  traiisubstaiitiatit)n  was  absurd  and  that 
therefore  the  words  of  Christ  must  bo  understood 
figuratively.  A  purely  Hynil)olic  conception  he  did 
Sitrnuni  et  uot  toach,  rather  like  the  fathers,  siifuuni  cf  sacra- 

Sucra- 

zueutuni.  y/^t^// //<?//,  in  tlio  sacred  act:  Some  lu^ly  but  invisible 
element  is  added  by  the  "  co)ny'ni()'\  which  menus 
however  the  ti  hole  ('hrisi;  bread  and  wine  are  only 
relaticelij  changed.  He  taught  that  the  opposite 
doctrine  strives  ag.'iinst  reason,  wherein  the  Divine 
image  lies  enclosed;  he  who  favors  '^  iucpiia'"  casts 

^Dotifhie"^  aside  the  Divine  part.  7>erengar  s  doc;trine  was  con- 
demned at  Rome  and  Vercelli  (lOoO)  during  his  ab- 
sence; he  himself  was  forced  to  recant  at  Rom.e 
(1050)  and  he  condescended  to  sign  a  confession, 
composed  by  Cardinal  Humbert,  wliich  showed  that 
Bereiigar  had  not  exaggerated  the  ruling  doctrine ;  for 
in  the  confession  it  was  stated,  that  the  elements 
after  the  consecration  are  not  only  sacrament,  but 
the  very  bod}^  of  Christ  {sensualiter,  non  solnm 
Sacramento),  which  ihen  is  also  masticated  by 
the  teeth  of  the  believers.  Berenf'.ar,  protected  in 
the  following  years  by  influential  Roman  friends 
(Hildebrand),  restrained  himself  for  some  time,  but 
afterward  began  anew  the  literary  oontrovers3\ 
Now  the  principal  writings  were  first  iss'.ied  (Lan- 
franc,  de  carp,  et  sang,  doniini  adv.  B.C.  10C9). 
Gregory  VU,  was  in  no  hastv^  to  make  heretics;  yet 
in  order  not  to  prejudice  his  own  authority,  he  fin- 
ally forced  Berengar  for  the  second  time  to  submit. 


Contro- 
versy Re- 
newed. 


1  m 


m  u 


DRVRT.OPMKNT  OF    POCTHINR   OF  SrN,  KTr.      425 

The  loiirncd  sclioliiv  \va^  broken  <l(»\vii  aiwl  liis  causo 
perished.  Paschasius'  doctriiK*  of  traiisiihsiaiiiiation 
was  further  developed  l>y  the  o))poiients  of  l'>erengar 
{ni(Hi(h(c(iti<>  ittjUlvliuin :  coarse  realism);  still 
even  in  these  circles  one  commenced  to  a])ply  "  sci- 
ence" to  the  dogma  in  the  interest  of  the  Church. 
The  coarse  representations  were  disregarded,  the  en- 
tire  Christ  (not  simply  bloody  pieces  of  his  body)  was 
acknowledged  in  the  act  (in  ever}'  particular),  the  dif- 
ference between  si(/inn}i  and  s(icnt)nentiun  was  taken 
into  account  in  order  to  distinguish  betA'een  nmn- 
daiio  iufuJeUiiiu  mu}  jUh'lium  (especially  im})ortant 
is  (iuitnmiid  of  Aversa,  (/c  vari).  cf  s(m</.  Christ i 
veritate  ill  eacha rial i(t).  The  "scientific"  concep- 
tions also  concerning  substance  and  attributes  were 
already  set  forth,  whereby  the  conrae  '''  scnsufiJ iter" 
corrected  itself,  while  a  few,  it  is  true,  believed  in 
an  incorruptibility  of  the  attributes  of  the  converted 
substances.  Furthermore  there  were  already  begin- 
nings of  the  speculation  about  tlie  ubicpiity  of  the 
substance  of  the  body  of  Christ.  The  expression 
"  transsHbstu)itiati(/'  can  be  traced  first  to  Hildebert 
of  Tours  (beginning  of  the  ISth  centur}') ;  as  the 
final  argument  there  remained  always  the  ahnight}'- 
sovereign  will  of  God.  As  a  dogma  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  was  expressed  in  the  new  confes- 
sion of  faith  at  the  Lateran  council  (I'ilo),  which 
prior  to  the pi'ofessio  Jidei  Trident,  was,  next  to  the 
Nicene,  the  most  influential  symbol.  The  doctrine  of 
the  eucharist  was  here  joined  directly  to  the  trinity 


niiitnmiui 
of   AviTsa. 


IIil(h'bf>rt 

of  Tours; 

Trunsub- 

stauti- 

atioD. 


Dootrino  of 

Kiu'luirist 

.Joiiit'd  to 

Trinity 

and    Chris- 

tology. 


■I' 


hi 


n. 


ill 


II    •      > 


n 


Boldest 
A<'t  i.f 
Middle 
Akcs. 


420        OUTLINES   OF   TTTR   TfTSTORY    OF   POCSWA. 

and  to  Cliristolo^y,  TJicrcK'ifh  fr((s  (d.so  cvifrcssi'd 
in  the  sipulxd  flxfl  /he  sunic  is  one  irifh  flirsc  dor- 
frines,  aiul  indeed  in  the  form  of  the  d(x*trino  of  tran- 
substantiation  {"  trdn.sfiiiOsfdntidti.s  jnDie  et  vino") 
and  with  strict  hierarchical  trend.  Joined  thereto 
was  a  statement  regarding  baptism  and  penance 
{"per  veram  p()e)iiteutiani  semper  protest  repa- 
rarT).  Therewith  indeed  this  development  ended, 
and  with  it  the  allied  one,  flidf  erenj  Clin'stian  must 
confess  ]ns  sins  before  the  pdrochiis  (c.  21).  The 
innovation  in  the  si/nibol  (combination  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  encharist  with  the  trinity  and  Christol- 
ogy)  is  the  most  peculiar  and  the  boldest  act  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  having  much  greater  weight  than  the 
''^ Jilio(pie'\  On  the  other  side,  however,  the  new 
symbol  shows  still  very  plainly  that  only  the  old 
dogma  were  truly  dogma,  and  not  the  Augustinian 
sentences  concerning  sin,  hereditary  sin,  grace,  etc. 
Catholic  Christianity  is  constituted,  aside  from  the 
old  Church  dogmas,  by  the  doctrines  of  the  three 
sacraments  (baptism,  penance  and  the  eucharist). 
The  rest  are  dogma  of  the  second  order,  that  means, 
no  dogma  at  all.  This  condition  was  for  the  future 
(till  the  Reformation)  of  the  greatest  importance. 


( 

j 

1 

! 

1 

■ 

ill* 

1 1 

DKVKT.OPMRNT   OK    DOfTRINR   OF   HIN,  ETC.      427 

B.  Aufielnrs  Doctrine  nf  Sdlisjac/ion  <(ii<l  the 
Doctrines  o/  Atonement  of  the  Theolo(/i<(ns  of 
the  ]'Uh   Cent nr II. 

Gt'sc'h.  (1.  VerHohnungHlchro  v.  liiiur  n.  Ritscljl.  IlaHHO, 
AiiHolin,  2  Bde.,  1852  f.  Cremer,  i.  d.  Stud.  u.  Kiit.,  1880  S. 
7tf. 


I  ■ 


Ansplm; 

V\\y  Dt'iiH 

lloiiio? 


His   Pro. 

siipposi- 

tioii. 


Anselm  in  his  work  "  Cnr  dens  homo  "  attempted 
to  prove  the  strict  necessity  (reasonableness)  of  the 
death  of  a  God-man  for  the  redemption  of  sinful 
humanity  (even  in  Augustine  are  found  doubts  of 
this  necessity),  and  thereby  raised  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  practice  of  })enance  {ndtisf actio 
congrua)  to  the  standard  of  religion  in  general. 
Herein  consists  his  epochal  importance.  His  ])re- 
supposition  is  that  sin  is  guilt,  and  indeed  guilt 
against  God,  that  the  blotting  out  of  this  guilt  is 
the  main  point  in  the  irork  of  Christ,  that  the  cross 
of  Christ  is  the  redemption,  and  that  therefore  the 
grace  of  God  is  nothing  else  than  the  irorkof  Christ 
(Augustine  here  still  manifested  uncertainty).  In 
these  momentous  thoughts  lies  the  evangelical  truth 
of  Anselm's  deductions.  Yet  they  suffer  from  grave  Grave  im 
imperfections;  for  s^ince  they  take  into  consideration 
only  the  ''objective",  they  do  not  contain  the  proof  of 
the  reality  of  redemption,  but  primarily  only  the 
proof  of  its  conditions  (they  contain  no  doctrine  of 
atonement).  Furthermore  they  are  based  upon  a 
contradictory  view  of  the  honor  of  God,  they  place 
the  Divine  attributes  at  an  intolerable  variance,  they 


perfec- 
tions. 


42H        orTLINF.S   OF   THE    ITISTORV   Op   DOOM  A. 


I  i    i, r' 


inak'r  (j|(»(l  appcjir  not  as  tho  iMayter  and  as  almighty 
Love,  l)ut  as  a  powtu'ful  privato  citizen  who  is  man's 
partner,  Ihey  miseoneeive  tho  inviolableness  of  the 
sacrcMl  moral  law  and  therefore  the  sutfering  of  pun- 
ishment, and  finally  they  allow  mankind  to  bo  re- 
deemed ])y  human  saerifice  (!)  without  making  it 
plain  how  in  man  himself  a  change  of  heart  is  to  bo 
brought  about.  The  great  Augustinian  and  dialecti- 
He  Did  Not  ciau  Auselm  really  did  not  know  wliat  faith  is,  and 

Know  ''  ^  ' 

^'"^is'*^'"'  '*c  therefore  fancied  himself  able  to  formul.ite  a  doc- 
trine of  redemption  in  strictly  necessary  categories 
(for  the  conversion  (jf  ,Jt>ws  and  heathen),  without 
troubling  himself  about  tho  establishing  of  religion 
in  tho  heart,  that  is,  about  the  awakening  of  faith. 
That,  however,  means  a  purposing  to  treat  religion 
without  religion;  for  the  creating  of  faith  is  religion. 
Tho  old  splitting  of  the  problem  into  "  objective"  re- 
demption and  "  subjective"  adoption  had  its  effect 
hero  also,  oven  more  than  formerly;  for  Anselm 
grappled  with  the  ])rincipal  problem  energetically. 
So  much  tho  worse  wore  the  consequences,  which  pre- 
vail to  this  da}" ;  for  if  tho  problem  must  be  divided 
into  tho  "  objective"  (dramatic  management  of  God) 
and  the  "  subjective",  >then  has  God  even  in  Chris- 
tianity proved  by  the  death  of  Christ  only  a  general 
possibility  of  the  true  religion;  the  religion  itself, 
however,  every  individual  must  procure  for  himself, 
be  it  alone  or  by  means  of  numerous  little  assistants 
and  expedients  (the  Church).  He  who  shares  this 
view   thinks  Catholicly,  even  if  he  calls  himself  a 


Snndora 

l'lo))lt'tll 

into  "OI>- 

j<'ctivt>" 

ami  "Sul)- 

jective. " 


DKVKLOPMKNT   OK    DOCTKINK   OF   SIN,  KT( 


I'O 


Lutheran  Christian.     Ansclin   in   llir   most  impor-    pX'i'rv'ui 
taitt  prohh'tUy  trliich  if   n-ns  his  merit  ht  phtcc  at   i),Mii'i'n.'..r 

(loil  llllil  of 

the  iicdd,  JirsI  hrnKf/lif  to  fnll  rtcic  the  Jal.sc  ('(itlt-  UfiiKion. 
olic  i<lc<i  (tf  (ioil  (Hid  tlic  j\(lsi-  (ltd  Catlndic  con- 
ccption  of  rcfif/ioH  trliiclt,  had  tomj  since  found 
expression  in  the  pnicticc  of  jwrnincc.  In  this 
sonso  ho  is  a  ro-founder  of  tho  Catlmlic  (Inircli, 
although  his  theory  in  detail  has  in  many  respects 
been  abandoned — in  favor  of  a  still  more  convenient 
practice  of  the  Church.  Anselm  in  difYerent  writings 
{"'  Monologiiinr,  ''Prologium" — concerning  the  con- 
ception of  God;  ontological  proof)  gave  expression 
to  the  conviction,  that  one  shoidd  believe  lirst  upon 
authority,  and  then  one  would  be  able  to  prove  faith 
to  be  II  necessity  of  tliought.  However,  only  in  tho 
dialogically  composed  writing  "  Cur  dens  Jionio''^ 
has  ho  comprised  the  wliole  of  the  Christian  religion 
under  one  head  and  treated  it  uniformly  and  logi- 
cally. After  a  very  remarkable  introduction,  in  TimnlS'' 
which  especially  the  old  idea  about  redem])tion  as  a  boii  of  nis 
satisfaction  of  the  lawful  claims  of  tho  devil  is  re- 
flected, he  lays  down  the  principle  that  the  creature, 
endowed  with  reason,  has  through  sin  robbed  God 
of  the  honor  due  to  him  in  no  longer  rendering  to 
him  that  which  this  honor  demands,  namely,  obedi- 
ent subjection.  Since  God  cannot  lose  his  honor,  and 
since  freedo*^^  from  punishment  would  besides  bring 
about  a  general  disorder  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
either  restitution  (sdfisfocfio),  or  punishment  is  the  H.'stitmion 
only   thing   po^ssible.     The   latter    indeed    in    itself       ment. 


ii 


i 


I      ' 


I 


Il '. 


'     !l 


t  I 


%f  ■•  \\, 


i  '  ■ 


mm 


il 


^!  i 


Guilt  of 

Sin 
Infinite. 


God-Man 

Alono 
Sufficient. 


Acceptio 

iMor'is 

Infinite 

Good  to 

God  ! 


430       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTOfvy   OF   DOGMA. 

woiill  bo  suitable,  but  sinco  it  could  result  only  in 
destruction  and  thus  in  the  ruin  of  one  of  the  iP'^^t 
precious  works  of  God  (the  rationabilis  creatura), 
the  honor  of  God  does  not  permit  it.  Therefore  the 
satisf  actio  alone  remains,  which  must  be  a  restitution 
f),s  well  as  the  pri'^e  of  punishment.  Man,  however, 
cannot  render  it ;  for  everything  that  he  could  give 
t(»  God,  he  would  be  compelled  from  duty  to  give  to 
him;  moreover  the  guilt  of  sin  is  infinitely  great, 
since  already  the  slightest  disobedience  results  in 
endless  sin  ("  nondum  considerasti  quant  i  ponder  is 
sit  peccatinn^').  How  then  shall  man  restore 
"  iotiim  quod  deo  abstiilif\.  "  ntsicnt  dens  per  ilium 
perdidit,  ita  per  ilium  recuperet"'^  This  the  God- 
man  alone  is  able  to  do,  for  only  God  can  offer  "c?e 
s?to,  quod  nuijus  est  quaw  oninequodpraeterdeuni 
esV\  and  the  )no,n  must  bring  it.  Therefore  a  per- 
sonality is  required  who  has  two  natures  and  who  of 
/?/■>'  own  free  trill  can  and  does  offer  to  God  his 
Diviirvhuman  life  (sinlessness) .  It  must  be  his  iife^ 
for  that  alone  he  is  not  in  duty  bound  to  sacrifice  to 
God ;  everything  else  he  also,  the  sinless  one,  is  hound 
to  give  up.  But  in  thi;'  sacrifice  full  satisfaction  is 
rendered  {^^nidlatenus  seipsuni  potest  homo  magis 
dare  deo,  quam  cum  se  niorti  tradit  ad  lumorem 
illius'-),  indeed  its  value  is  infinite.  While  the  least 
injury  of  this  life  has  an  infinite  negative  value,  tht- 
free  surrender  of  it  ha;^  an  infinite  positive  value. 
Tlu^  accept  io  mortis  of  such  a  God-man  is  an  infinite 
good  to  God  (!),  which  far  exccedis  iiis  loss  through 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      431 


sin.  Christ  has  done  all  this;  his  voluntary  death 
can  have  resulted  only  "  in  honovcm  deV\  for 
another  purpose  cannot  be  discovered.  For  us  this 
death  lias  a  three-fold  result:  (1)  The  hitherto  crush- 
ing guilt  of  sin  has  been  removed,  (2)  We  can  take 
to  ourselves  heartily  the  example  of  this  voluntary 
death,  and,  (3)  God,  in  acknowledging  the  rendering 
of  the  satisfadio  as  a  mc'-itnni  also  of  the  God- 
man,  gives  us  the  benefit  of  this  merit  urn,  since  he 
can  indeed  give  nothing  to  Christ.  Onl}'  by  reason 
of  this  benefit  are  we  able  to  become  imitators  of 
Christ.  This  last  turn  is  a  genial  attempt  of 
Anselm's  to  transmit  into  the  hearts  of  men  the 
power  of  the  dramatic  scheme  of  redemption ;  but  ho 
suffers  from  a  want  of  clearness  which  then  prevailed 
in  the  practice  of  penance.  In  themselves  satis- 
factio  and  meritfuii  are  irreconcilable,  for  one  and 
the  same  action  can  be  only  the  one  or  the  other  (the 
latter,  if  there  was  no  occasion  for  an  action  greater 
tlian  was  obligator}-) .  But  from  the  practice  of  pen- 
ance one  was  accustomed  to  see  "  merits"  in  actions 
in  excess  of  duty,  even  if  they  served  as  com])en- 
sation.  Thus  did  Anselm  also  placed  the  satis- 
factio  Christ i  under  the  point  of  view  of  merit, 
which  continues,  even  after  the  conclusion  of  the  real 
transaction,  to  pacify  and  appease  God.  Anselm 
could  do  this  so  nuich  the  easier,  since  he  considered 
the  service  of  Christ  far  greater  than  the  weight  of 
sin.  But  lu>  joined  to  the  thought  of  nieritum, 
though  rather  by  intimation,  the  subjective  effect  of 


C'lirist's 
nrath    llHS 
'Jlir fold 

Kc'sult. 


Satisfac- 
tion   of 
Christ 
Viewed    as 
Merit. 


,  'i 


432 


OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF    DOGMA. 


h'\  :?i 


.i 


m.t  i 


Ahelarri 
lj;nor»'(l 
Anselni's 
Satisfac- 
tion 
Theory. 


Denied  the 
Claims  of 
tho  Devil. 


the  action ;  in  the  framing  of  the  conception  of  sat- 
isfactio  he  did  not  find  a  point  whore  he  could  pass 
over  to  the  "subjective".  Nevertlieless,  he  ended 
with  the  strong  cons(dousness  of  liaving  reasonably 
proved  ^^ per  luiius  qnaestionis  solid ioneni  quicquid 
ill  novo  veteriqne  Icstaniento  contlnetur'". 

Anselni's  satisfaction  theory  in  subsequent  times 
was  accepted  only  with  modifications.  Abelard  made 
no  use  of  it,  but  went  back,  whenever  he  treated  of 
redemption  through  Christ  (Comm.  on  Romans),  to 
the  New  Testament  and  patristic  tradition,  bringing 
into  prominence  the  important  thought  that  we  must 
be  led  back  to  God  (no  change  in  God's  attitude  is 
necessary).  Primarily  he  ref(3rs  redemption  to  the 
elect  and  therefore  teaches  that  tho  death  of  the  God- 
man  must  be  conceived  only  as  an  act  of  love,  which 
inflames  our  cold  hearts ;  however  he  also  gives  the 
matter  the  turn,  that  the  merit  of  Christ  as  head 
of  the  coiiuniuiit tj  hcnefits  its  members;  this  merit 
however  is  no  aggregation  of  certain  good  deeds,  but 
the  fulness  of  tho  love  of  God  dwelling  in  Christ. 
Christ's  merit  is  the  merit  of  his  love  which  con- 
tinues in  constant  intercession ;  the  atonomcnt  is  tho 
personal  communion  Avitli  Christ,  Of  the  claims  of 
the  devil  on  us,  Abelard  ^vould  also  recognize  none, 
and,  together  with  the  idea  of  the  necessity  of  a 
bloody  sacrifice  to  appease  God,  he  repudiated  the  idea 
of  the  logical  necessity  of  the  death  on  the  cross. 
The  righteousness  of  the  idea  of  the  suffering  of  pun- 
ishment remained  hidden  to  liim  as  well  as  to  Anselm. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE  OP  SIN,  ETC.      4.;33 

Bernard's  thoughts  concorning  the  atonement  hig 
behhid  those  for  Abelard ;  still  he  knew  how  to  ex- 
press his  love  for  Christ  more  edifyingly  than  the 
latter.  The  conception  of  the  inej'it  of  Chn'.sf  (ac- 
cording to  Anselm)  became  in  after-times  the  de- 
cisive one.  Whenever  men  meditated  about  the 
satisf actio,  the  strict  categories  of  Anselm  were 
loosened  at  many  points.  Indeed  even  in  the  disci- 
pline of  penance  all  necessity  and  "quantit}""  was 
uncertain !  Moreover  the  Lombard  contented  himself 
with  recounting  all  the  possible  views  in  which,  ac- 
cor^ling  to  tradition,  one  can  look  at  the  death  of 
Christ,  even  that  of  the  purchasing  of  the  devil, 
together  with  the  deception,  and  of  the  value  of  pun- 
ishment, bu^  not  of  the  doctrine  of  satisfaction,  be- 
cause it  has  no  tradition  in  its  favor.  At  the  bottom, 
however,  he  was  a  follower  of  Abelard  (merit,  awak- 
ening of  reciprocal  love) .  After  him  the  haggling 
and  bargaining  began  about  the  value  of  sin  and  the 
value  of  the  merit  of  Christ. 


Rprnanl 

Less 

Advauced. 


i 


Peter 
Lombard 
Kecoimts 

All 
Theories. 


■  I 


H 


M 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HISTORV  OF  DOCniA  IN  THE  TIME  OF  THE  MEN- 
DICANT ORDERS  TILL  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE 
IGTH   CENTURY. 


The  conditions  under  which  dogma  was  placed 
during  this  period  made  it  as  (t,  .stjstrni  of  law  more 
and  more  stable — for  which  reason  also  the  Reforma- 
tion halted  before  the  old  dogma — but  caused  more 


!    i 


I    1 


!  I 


I        • 


!     :i 


St. 

Francis: 

Humilitj', 

Lovo, 
Obedienci'. 


Classical 

Expi't'ssion 

of  Catliolic 

Piety. 


A  Call  to 
Repent- 
ance. 


43-4       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

and  more  an  inner  dissolution,  since  it  no  longer 
satisfied  the  individual  piety,  or  held  its  ground  in 
the  presence  of  the  now  knowledge. 

1.  On  the  Histo)'!/  of  Piety. 

Hase,  Franciskus,  ISoO.  INIuller,  Aufiingo  des  Minoriten- 
ordens,  1885.  Tliode,  Franciskns,  1885.  Muller,  die  Wal 
denser,  188G.  lu  addition  the  works  on  the  Joacliiniites 
Spiritualists,  German  Mystics  (Preger),  Unitas  Fratres,  Hus 
sites  and  heretics  of  the  JMiddle  Ag(>s.  Dollinger,  Beitr.  z 
Sectengeseh.  d.  MA.,  1800.  Archiv.  f.  J^iit.  u.  K. -Gesch 
des  M.  A.  1  ir  (especially  the  works  of  Denitle). 

The  Bernardine  piety  of  immersing  uneself  en- 
tirely in  the  sufferings  of  Christ  was  developed  by 
St.  Francis  into  a  i)iety  of  the  imitation  of  Christ  in 
'' hninilitale,  caritdte,  obedienficr.  IbnnUitas  is 
complete  jwrertf/,  and  in  the  form  in  which  he 
represented  it  b}'  his  life  and  joined  it  with  an  ex- 
ceeding love  for  Christ,  Francis  held  before  men  an 
inexhausti})ly  rich  and  high  ideal  of  Christianity,  ca- 
pable of  the  most  widely  different  individual  phases, 
and  breaking  its  way  througli,  because  first  in 
it  did  Catholic  pieiij  receire  its  classical  expres- 
sion. Francis  Avas  at  the  same  time  animated  by  a 
truly  apostolic  missionary  spirit  and  a  most  fervent 
zeal  to  enkindle  men's  hearts  and  to  serve  Christian- 
it}^  in  love.  His  preaching  was  aimed  at  the  indi- 
indtial  soul  and  at  the  restoration  of  apostolic  life. 
In  wider  circles  it  was  to  work  as  a  thrilling  peni- 
tentiid  scnuon,  and  witli  lliis  in  view  Francis  re- 
ferred believers  to  the  Church,  whose  most  faithful 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  DOCTRINE  OF  8IN,  ETC.   435 

son  he  was,  although  her  bishops  and  priests  did  not 
serve,  but  ruled.  This  contradiction  Jw  overlooked, 
but  others  who  had  preceded  him  did  not  (Walden- 
sians,  humiliates),  and  in  their  endeavor  to  restore 
apostolic  life  they  suspected  the  ruling  Church  and 
withdrew  from  it.     The  mendicant  orders  have  the  jiondicant 

Orders 

merit  of  having  kept  a  great  stream  of  awakened  and 
active  Christian  life  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
Church ;  not  a  little  of  its  waters  already  flowed  out- 
tide,  took  a  hostile  direction,  stirred  up  a  .ew  the  old 
apocalyptical  thoughts  and  saw  in  the  Church  the 
great  babel,  reserving  the  approaching  judgment  at 
one  time  for  God,  at  another  for  the  emperor.  A 
small  part  of  the  Franciscans  made  common  cause 
with  them.  They  spread  over  Italy,  France,  and 
Germany  as  far  as  Bohemia  and  Brandenburg, 
fostering  here  and  there  confused  heretical  ideas, 
sharpening  however  as  a  rule  only  the  consciences, 
awakening  religious  imrest  or  independence  in  the 
form  of  individual,  ascetic  religiousness,  and  relax- 
ing or  combating  the  authority  of  the  Church.  A 
lay  Christ ianif/i  devel<)/)ed  its('lf  trithin  and  Jni  Lay  <":hris- 

^  'J  J-  J  ./        tianity 

the  side  of  the  Church,  in  which  the  trend  toward  ^^^^lop^^i- 
religious  independence  became  strong ;  but  since  as- 
ceticism is  at  last  always  aimless  and  can  create  no 
blessedness,  it  stands  in  need  of  the  Church,  of  its 
authority  and  of  its  sacraments.  B}*  a  secret  but 
very  firm  tie  all  "heretics",  who  writer  tlie  ascetic- 
evangelical  ideal  of  life  u]>on  tlieir  standards,  remain 
bound  to  the   (/hurch  from  wliose  o})pression,  rule 


V  waken 

Kt'lijjious 

Unrest. 


•t 


;  \ 


,M 


'  n 


V,       . 


I : 


! 
''    ' 


i  I 


11 


i^ij 


Tho 

"Rocts"Not 
Enduring. 


Doctrine 
Little  In- 
tlnencecl 
by  Waklen- 
sians  and 
Mendi- 
cants. 


430       OUTLINES   OF    THE   IIISTOIJV    OP^   TKXJMA. 

and  worldlincss  they  wish  to  escape.  From  the  sects 
of  Biblicists,  Ap(K'alyptics,  Waldensians  and  Hus- 
sites no  lasting  result  was  gained.  They  were  truiy 
*' heretical",  for  they  still  belonged  to  the  Church 
from  which  thej'  wished  to  escape.  The  numerous 
pious  ])rotherhoo(ls,  which  grew  up  and  remained 
(although  with  many  sighs)  within  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  had  still  elasticity  enough  to  make  room  for 
"poverty"  and  evangelical  life,  and  to  receive  the 
mendicant  orders  into  membership.  She  soon  en- 
ervated them  and  they  became  her  best  supports. 
To  the  individual  piety  of  the  laity,  firmly  chained  to 
the  confessional,  sacraments,  priest  and  pope,  a  sub- 
ordinate existence  was  accorded  in  the  Church  of  the 
priests.  Thus  the  mediaeval  Church  wearily  fought 
its  way  through  the  l-ltli  and  15th  centuries.  For 
whatever  sacrifices  the  minorites  were  forced  to 
iiiake  to  the  hierarchy,  they  in  a  manner  indemnified 
themselves  by  the  unheard-of  energy  with  which 
they  served  the  purp(jses  of  the  universal  Church 
through  the  laity.  The  universal,  historical  impor- 
tance of  the  movements  caused  by  the  Waldensians 
and  mendicant  orders  cannot  l)o  reckoned  in  new 
doctrines  and  institutions,  although  these  were  not  en- 
tirely wanting,  but  consists  in  the  religious  awaken- 
ing  and  in  an  unrest  leading  to  a  religious  indi- 
vidualism, which  they  caused.  In  so  far  as  the 
mendicant  orders  laid  tlie  "  aute-Reformation" 
movements  induced  the  individual  to  meditate  upon 
the  truths  of  salvation,  they  were  the  first  advance 


DEVELOF'MENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      437 


toward  tlie  liefonnatinii.  I  Jut  tlio  nioro  religiuii  was 
cuirriod  into  the  circles  of  tlic  third  rank  an  1  of  the 
hiity  in  general,  the  greater  was  the  watchfulness 
touching  the  inviolability  of  the  old  dogma,  and  the 
great  majority  of  the  laity  indeed  desired  to  respect 
in  the  dogma  their  firm  standpoint  amidst  the  un- 
certainty concerning  the  standard  of  the  practical 
problems  and  concerning  the  correct  state  of  the  em- 
pirical Church. 

To  enter  into  particulars,  especial  attention  must 
be  paid,  for  the  puri)oso  of  the  history  of  dogma,  to 
the  union  of  the  mendicant  orders  with  inijsticism 
during  this  inner  religious  awakening.  Mysticism 
is  a  conscious,  reflecting,  Catholic  piety,  which  de- 
sires to  grow  by  this  very  reflection  and  contempla- 
tion :  Catholicism  knew  only  this  or  the  fides  impli- 
cit a.  The  model  originated  from  a  combination  of 
Augustine  and  the  Areopagite,  enlivened  by  the 
Bernardine  devotion  to  Christ.  Mysticism  has  many 
forms;  but  national,  or  confessional  the  difference 
among  them  is  slight.  As  its  starting-point  his- 
torically is  pantheistic,  so  is  its  aim  pantheistic  (non- 
cosmical).  In  the  degree  in  which  it  holds  more  or 
less  strongly  to  the  historical  Christ  and  the  rules  of 
the  Church,  this  aim  comes  more  or  less  clearly  to 
light ;  but  even  in  the  most  churchly  stamp  of  mys- 
ticism the  dominating  thought  is  never  wholly  want- 
ing, which  points  beyond  the  historical  Christ :  God 
and  the  soul,  the  soul  and  its  God;  Christ  the 
brother;  the  birth  of  Christ  in  every  believer  (the 


Old  Dopiiia 
liiviuluble. 


Mendicant 
<  )r(lt'rs 
Unite 

with  Mys- 
ticism. 


Augustine 
and  Areop- 

ajcite 
Cunibiued. 


w 


43R       orTLTNKS   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


1   \ 


If 


ii 


Mystk'isiii 

Says  l{i'li>^- 

ion  is  lA\'t' 

iiiiil  Love. 


Soul  Must 
Return  to 
Uo(l  hy 
Purifica- 
tion, Illu- 
mination 
and  Uoioa. 


Thi>  Sen- 
suous is 
Sign   and 
PledRi'  of 

tilt' 
Eternal. 


latttT  coiicfivcd  now  fiiiitastictilly,  now  spiritiuiUy). 
Mysticism  taii^lii  that  nsligion  is  h'/c  and  love,  and 
from  this  lofty  idoa  it  uiidort(X)k  to  throw  light  upon 
all  dogma  to  the  vory  depths  of  the  trinity,  and  even 
to  remodel  tho  same ;  i  err.-  od  individual  religious 
liio,  and  the  myLtictj  ''l  il;  •  Tuei'dicant  orders  were 
its  greatest  virtuosos,  t'tt  ]j<:'i'anso  it  did  not  recog- 
nizee the  rock  of  faith,  it  was  able  i.nly  to  give  direc- 
tions for  a  ])ro(fre.sfius  infinifns  (to  God),  but  did 
not  allow  the  steadfast  feeling  cf  a  safe  possession  to 
thrive. 

The  admonitions  of  mysticism  move  within  the 
circle,  that  the  soul,  alienated  from  God,  must  return 
to  God  hy  j)i(rificafi()ti,  ilhuiiination  and  substan- 
tial nniou;  it  must  be  "developed",  "cultivated" 
and  "'highly-refined".  With  the  rich  and  certain 
intuition  of  past  experience,  the  mystics  talked  of  a 
turning  in  upon  the  soul,  of  the  contemplation  of  the 
outer  world  as  the  work  of  God,  of  poverty  and 
humility,  with  which  the  soul  must  accord.  In  all 
stages  many  mystics  understood  how  to  draw  upon 
the  whole  ecclesiastical  apparatus  of  the  means  of 
salvation  (sacraments,  sacramental  influences);  for, 
as  with  the  Neo-Platonists,  so  also  with  the  mystics, 
the  most  inner  spiritual  piety  did  not  stand  opposed 
to  the  worship  of  idols :  The  sensuous,  upon  wdiich 
rests  the  sheen  of  a  holy  tradition,  is  the  sign  and 
pledge  of  the  eternal.  The  penance  sacrament  es- 
pecially played,  as  a  rule,  a  great  role  in  the  "  puri- 
fication".    In  the   ''  illiiiniuatiou"   the    Bernardino 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,   ETC.       \:V.) 

c  >  toinplatio'is  .iro  v»^r\  proinimnt.  By  tho  side  of 
hij.'hly  (.louljti'ul  <nre('ti(nis  n^g'ardinj^  tlu'  imitution  of 
C)  rist,  +hcre  aiv  also  found  evangelical  tlioughta — 
faithful  eontideiice  in  (lirist.  l>uside,s,  there  is  em- 
phasizeii  here  the  entire  immersing  in  love,  from 
which  WIS  developed  a  great  increase  of  inuer  life, 
in  which  latter  the  Renaissance  and  Reformation 
seem  to  have  been  prei)ared  for.  In  tho  ''  suhst a  a-  ''^ntheisuc 
Hal  union^''  there  finally  appeared  the  metaphysical 
thoughts  (God  as  the  all,  tho  individual  as  nothings 
God  the  "abysmal  substance",  the  "peaceful  pas- 
sivity", etc.).  Even  tho  normal  dogmatist  Thor  is 
here  countenanced  pantheistic  ideas,  which  gave  uifc 
impulse  to  "extravagant"  piety.  In  recent  times  it 
has  been  shown  by  Denitle  that  jVIastor  Eckhart,  the 
great  mystic  who  was  censured  by  the  Church,  was 
entirely  dependent  upon  Thomas.  But  however  dan- 
gerous these  speculations  have  been-  their  intention 
was  nevertheless  the  highest  spiritual  freedom  (see 
for  example  the  "German  theology"),  which,  by  en- 
tire withdrawal  from  the  world,  shoidd  be  attained 
through  the  feeling  of  the  Supernatural.  In  this 
sense  especially  the  German  mystics  since  Eckhart 
have  wrought.  While  the  Romance  i)eoples  above  all 
tried  to  a  rouse  violent  emotions  by  penitential  ser- 
mons, they  undertook  the  positive  task  of  bringing 
the  highest  ideas  of  the  piety  of  the  times  into  the 
po})ular  language  and  within  the  ranks  of  the  laity 
(Tauler,  Sense,  etc.),  and  to  render,  through  self- 
discipline,  the  mind  at  home  in  the  world  of  love. 


Mastpr 
Eckhart. 


Tauler, 
Seusi',  t'tc. 


M  T.    ' 


if: ' 

i 

!           I. 

I 

Vi8ion  of 

Oixl 

Voiic'h- 

Hiifed  Hj.to. 


Thomistic 

and 

Scotistic 

Mysticisui. 


German 
Mysticism 
Influential. 


440       OUTLINES  OP  THE   HISTORY    OF   DOCJMA 

Tlicy  tauj^ht  (followiiiLf  Thomas)  thai  the*  soul  ran 
ovoii  hero  upon  carlli  so  rcccivo  God  within  itself 
as  to  enjoy  in  the  fullest  sense  the  vision  of  his 
Being  and  dwell  in  heaven  itself.  Indeed  the  idea 
of  full  surrender  to  the  Divine  verged  toward  the 
other  thought,  that  the  soul  bears  the  Divine  within 
itself  and  is  able  to  develop  it  as  spiritual  freedom 
and  superiority  beyond  everything  existing  and  con- 
ceivable. The  directions  for  it  are  sometimes  more 
intellectually  precise,  at  others  more  quiotistic.  The 
Thomistic  mysticism  possesses  the  Augustinian  as- 
surance of  gaining  freedom  through  knowdedgo  and 
of  rising  to  God ;  the  Scotistic  no  longer  possessed 
this  assurance,  and  it  sought  the  highest  moods 
through  disciplining  the  will:  Union  of  will  ii'ith 
Gody  resignation,  tranquillity.  Herein  indeed  lay 
a  progress  in  the  recognition  of  evangelical  piety, 
which  was  full  of  import  for  the  Reformation ;  but 
even  the  nominalists  (Scotists)  had  lost  a  clear  and 
definite  apprehension  of  the  Divine  will.  The  way 
seemed  open  here  for  the  question  concerning  the 
certitudo  salutis,  but  this  remained  unanswered  so 
long  as  the  conception  of  God  was  not  pushed  beyond 
the  line  of  the  arbitrary  Will. 

The  importance  of  mysticism,  especially  of  German 
mysticism,  is  not  to  be  underrated  even  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  positive  equipment  of  asceticism  as  active, 
brotherly  love.  The  old  monkish  instructions  were 
enlivened  by  the  energetic  admonition  to  the  service 
of  one's  neighbor.     TIk^  simple  relation  of  man  to 


Dr^VEI.OPMRXT   OP    nOf'TRINE   OF   SIN,  KTC.       Ill 


mmi,  ma(l<'  sMcn-d  hy  tli(>  (Miristijui  coiiiDmndiiu'iit 
of  love  iiiid  l)y  the  pcaco  of  (lod,  is  iioticoiil)!^  in  all 
tlio  persistent  organizations  and  castes  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  was  preparing  to  burst  th(3ni.  llei-e  also 
the  beginning  of  a  new  era  can  be  perceived:  'i'lie 
monks  became  more  active,  more  worldly — frecpiently 
in  truth  nmwild  therein — and  the  laity  became  more 
alive  and  active.  In  the  free  unions,  half  secular, 
half  ecclesiastical,  the  i)ulseof  a  life  of  piety  throbbed. 
The  old  religious  orders  were  in  j)art  k(*pt  alive  sim- 
ply artificially  and  lost  their  authority.  Among  the 
Anglo-Saxons  and  Czechs,  hitherto  o])pressed  and 
kept  in  poverty  b}'  foreign  nations,  the  now  piety 
allied  itself  with  a  politico-national  program  (Wiclif  WicUf  anj 
and  Huss  movements).  This  had  a  most  energizing 
effect  upon  Germany,  but  it  never  bnnight  about 
in  patient  and  divided  Germany  a  national  reform 
movement.  Everything  socially  revolutionary  or 
anti-liierarchical  remained  isolated,  and  even  when 
the  world-dominating  Church  had  prostituted  itself    V^'^^^'^j' 

O  ^  tloll    of 

in  Avignon  and  when  at.  the  reform  councils  the  cry  of  Avigilou.^ 
the  Romance  nations  for  reform  and  insurance  against 
the  shameless  financial  dominance  of  the  curia  had 
become  loud,  the  Gorman  peoples,  with  few  excep- 
tions, still  kept  their  patience.  An  immense  revolu- 
tion, again  and  again  retarded,  was  prepared  during 
the  15th  century,  but  it  appeared  to  threaten  merely 
the  political  and  ecclesiastical  institutions.  Piety  jj^jf  AtSi!-k 
seldom  attacked  the  old  dogma,  which  through  do^I'' 
nominalism  had  become  wholly  a  sacred  relic.     It 


".-1 


H 


nua. 


■  i 


I  ■) 


Tiomiis  i1 


44^        ol'TMNKS   OF   THK    IIISTOliV    OK    IKXJMA. 

tuniud,  it  is  triu*,  ayainst  tlir  new  doctrint's  deduci'd 
from  vicious  Church  piacticeH ;  but  as  for  itself  it 
desired  to  ho  nothing  ciso  tlian  tho  old  etclosiastical 
pioty,  and  indeed  it  was  nothing  else.  In  the  15th 
century  niysticisni  I'larilied  itself  in  (ierniany.  Tho 
"Imitation  of  (-hrist"  by  Tlionias  a  Kempis  is  its 
purest  expression;  but  anytliing  like  reform  in  the 
strictest  sense  is  not  proclaimed  in  tho  little  book. 
The  reformation  part  consists  only  in  its  individual- 
ism and  in  the  power  with  which  it  addresses  itself 
to  every  soul. 


Oodo  of 
(i rat  inn 


2.   On  fJir   Ilisiorfj  of  Ecclesiastical  Law.     The 
Doctrine  of  the  Church. 

In  the  time  from  Gratian  to  Innocent  III.  the  papal 
system  secured  the  supremacy.  The  whole  decretal 
legislation  from  1159  to  1320  rests  upon  the  code  of 
Gratian,  and  scholastic  theology  became  subject  to 
it.  Citations  from  tho  Church  fathers,  in  groat  part, 
were  transmitted  by  the  law-books.  The  Church, 
which  in  dogmatics  should  ever  be  the  communion 
of  believers  (of  the  predestined),  was  in  truth  a 
Episoopus  hierarchy,  the  pope  was  the  episcopus  universalis. 
saiis.  Within  ecclesiastical  limits  the  German  kings  per- 
mitted this  development,  and  are  responsible  for  it. 

The  leading  thoughts  in  regard  to  the  Church, 

which  were  only  later  finally  established,  were  the 

iiiorarchv    following:  (l)  The  hierarchical  organization  is  es- 

sential  to  the  Church,  and  the  Christianity  of  the 


T)RVKI/)PMKNT  OF   !)()(  TIUNK   OP  SIN,  ETC.       1  III 


i| 


The 


riiiiciioiiH 

icsta, 


C'laircli. 


laity  is  in  m'cry  ivspect  bouinl  to  tin'  iiitrrmcdiation 
of  tlio  priests  {rile  <n-<lin(ifi),  who  aloiR'  fan  inTlorni 
tho  Church  functions;  ('.')  The  sacramental  and  juris-  JJ"J;' 
dictional  powers  of  the  i)riests  are  iiuh^pendent  of 
1  heir  personal  wortiiint^ss;  (:{)  The  Church  isa  visihln 
connuunion  endowed  with  a  constitution  originating 
with  Christ  (and  as  such  c<u'pns  Chrisfi);  it  lias  a 
twofold  i)()f<'sl<ts,    namely    si^irifnah's  cf   tcniuor-     Tw..f..i.i 

*  '  *'         '  -•  I'owcr  of 

((lis.  Througii  hoth  it,  which  shall  endure  to  tlio 
end  of  the  world,  is  sui)erior  to  and  i)laced  ahovt'  tho 
perishable  states.  Therefore  all  states  and  all  indi- 
viduals must  bo  obedient  to  it  {da  ncces.'iihde  .salii- 
tis);  oven  over  lieretiey  and  heathens  the  power  of 
tho  Church  extends  (final  decision  by  Boniface  VIII. ) ; 
(4)  In  the  p<  pe,  tho  re])resentativo  of  Christ  and 
successor  of  Peter,  a  strictly  m<  niarchical  constitution 
is  given  to  the  Church.  Whatever  is  valid  of  the 
hierarchy  is  above  all  valid  of  hin:i;  the  remaining 
members  of  the  hierarchy  <are  ai)i)ointed  only  "  171 
partem  sollicitudinis".  He  is  the  episcopufi  nni- 
versalis;  to  him  therefore  belong  the  two  swords; 
and  since  the  Christian  can  attain  unto  sanctifica- 
tion  only  withii  the  Church,  since  however  the 
Church  is  the  hierarchy  and  the  hierarchy  the  pope, 
all  the  world  must  de  necessitate  salutis  be  subject 
to  the  pope  (bull  "  unani  sanctam").  By  a  chain  of 
falsifications,  which  arose  especially  within  the  re- 
awakened polemics  against  the  Greeks  (13th  century), 
these  maxims  were  dated  back  into  ecclesiastical 
antiquity,    yet   were    strictly   formulated    (Thomas 


I'ono 
Wi.'ltls 

Two 
SwordH. 


F'Use 
Decrt  tdis. 


Ijll 

I! 


r  r 


.  1 

'D     i"    Ik'  '  ' 

iiil'!'' 

f  f  f 

'    1 

1  ^  \  ' 
1 

'. i.  I 


ii!i:l;w' 


fal 


444     orruxEs  of  ttir  history  of  dogma. 

A(iuiiias)  only  af'tor  tbcy  had  lung  boon  admitted  in 
practice.  Tho  new  law  followed  the  new  custom, 
which  was  slrengthened  by  tho  mendicant  orders; 
for  the  lattcT,  thoroughly  unsettled  ])y  the  special 
privikiges  ^vhi<*ll  they  received,  and  the  aristo- 
cratic, provincial  and  local  powers  completed  the 
victory   of   the  pa])al   autocracy.     The   doctrine    of 

I'^'BlJ"-  ])ai)al  infal]il)ility  Avas  tho  necessary  result  of  this 
development.  This  also  was  formulated  by  Thomas, 
but  not  as  yet  carried  through;  for  on  this  last  point 
both  the  historical  and  the  provincial  ecclesiastical 
conscience  reacted  (the  university  of  Paris;  the  re- 
buke of  John  XXII.  as  an  heretic).  About  i;5()0  the 
extravagant  exaltation  of  the  papacy  in  literature 
reached  its  height  ( Augustinus  Triumphus,  Alvarus 
Pelagius),  but  after  about  looO  it  grew  weak,  to  grow 
strong  again  only  after  l"-20  years  (Torquemada). 
In  the  interval  the  latest  development  of  the  papacy 
was  combated  violently,  but  not  successfully,  first  in 
the  ghibelline  literature,  to  which  for  a  time  the 
minorite  (Occam)  was  allied,  later  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  sui)remacy  of  the  councils.  Only  tem- 
porarily was  Munich  the  seat  of  the  opposition  and 
did  German  authors  take  part  in  it.  The  real  land 
of  opposition  was  France,  it.s  king  and  bishops,  yes 
the  French  nation.     The  latter  alone  preserved  the 

praRmatic    freedom  obtained  at   the  councils  (pragmatic  sanc- 

Sanctiou.  _  -^       ^ 

tion  at  Bourges,  lloO) ;  but  in  the  concordat  of  1517 
the  king  also  sacrificed  it  to  share  with  the  pope, 
after  the  example  of  other  princes,  the  established 


Violently 
Couibateil 


DEVELOPMENT   OP   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      445 

Church  of  the  country.  By  about  1 -")()()  the  old 
tyranny  had  Ijeen  re-cstablislied  ahnost  everywhere. 
The  Lateran  council,  at  the  beginning  of  the  KUh 
century,  defied  the  wishes  of  the  nations  as  though 
there  never  had  been  sessions  at  Constance  and  Bale. 

The  new  development  of  the  idea  of  the  Church,  {J^i^n*. 
up  to  the  middle  of  the  1  iJth  century,  was  brought  \)ur'ispVu-^ 
about  not  by  theology  but  by  jurisprudence.  This 
is  explained,  (1)  By  the  lack  of  interest  in  theology 
at  Rome,  {'i)  By  the  fact  that  the  theologians,  when- 
ever they  meditated  about  the  Church,  always  re- 
peated the  dissertations  of  Augustine  concerning  the 
Church  as  societati  Jidc/tKiit  {iiniiicrus  electonan), 
for  which  reason  also  the  later  "  heretical"  opinions 
concerning  the  Church  are  found  in  the  great  scholas- 
tics. Only  after  the  middle  of  the  1  ;)th  century  did 
theology  take  an  interest  in  the  hiorarchial,  papal 
Church  idea  of  the  iurists  (forerunner:  Hugo  of  St.     "uK?  ^^■ 

-}  ^  o  Victor. 

Victor).  The  controversy  with  the  Greeks,  espe- 
cially after  the  council  of  Lyons,  r-2T4,  furnished 
the  op])ortunity.  The  importance  of  Thomas  con- 
sists in  the  fact  that  lie  first  developed  strictly 
the  papal  conception,  o/  tJie  Chnrch  vitJu'n  doff- 
matics,  but  at  tlw  same  time  united  it  artfu/lf/ 
with  the  Awjustinian,  idea  fro)n  which  he  started. 
Thomas  adheres  to  it  tliat  the  Church  is  the  num])er   p^Saent 


ui)on 


of  the  elect;  but  he  shows  that  the  Church  is  author-   aukusi 
ity  in  doctrinal  law,  and  as  a  priestly  sacramental 
institution  is  the  cjcclusire  organ  through  which  the 
h.;ad  of  the  Church  j)rocures  members.     Tluishe  was 


me. 


til 


hi 


i     n 


'I 

"I 


<   I'l 

)    HI 


-J.  t» 


;!„  n 


Opposition 

to  Roman 

Idea 

Futile, 


Common 
Orouiid    of 
Defenders 
and  Op- 
ponents. 


440        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 

able  to  join  the  new  to  the  old.  Nevertheless  till  the 
Reformation  and  beyond  it  the  whole  hierarchical 
and  papal  theory  obtained  no  sure  position  in  dog- 
matics; it  remained  Roman  decretal  right,  was  util- 
ized in  practice  and  ruled  over  the  hearts  of  men 
through  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments.  All  that 
could  bo  expected  in  the  interest  of  the  hierarchy 
from  a  formulation  of  the  Church  idea  had  indeed 
already  been  acquired  as  a  secure  possession. 

Because  it  was  an  opposition  from  the  centre  every 
opposition  against  the  Roman  idea  of  the  Church 
which  became  clamorous  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
Middle  Ages  remained  ineffectual.  The  signifi- 
cance of  faith  to  the  Church  idea  no  one  clearly 
recognized,  and  the  final  trend  of  the  whole  religious 
system  tow\ard  the  visio  ef  fruitio  dei  no  one  cor- 
rected. The  common  ground  of  the  defenders  of  the 
hierarchical  Church  idea  imd  their  opponents  was  the 
following:  (1)  The  Church  is  the  communion  of 
those  who  shall  attain  unto  the  vision  of  God,  of 
the  predestined;  (:2)  Sinco  no  one  knows  whether  he 
belongs  to  this  communion,  he  must  make  diligent 
use  of  the  means  of  salvation  of  the  Church;  (o) 
These  means  of  salvation,  the  sacraments,  are  be- 
stowed upon  the  empirical  Church  and  attached  to 
the  priests;  (1)  They  have  .i  double  purpose,  first,  to 
j)repare  for  the  life  beyond  by  incorporation  in  the 
body  of  C^hrist,  and  then,  since  they  are  powers  of 
faith  and  love,  to  produce  here  on  earth  the  "/^e/^r' 
vivere*\  i.e.  to  cause  the  fulfihnent  of  the  law  of 


developmp:nt  of  doctrine  ok  sin,  etc.     147 

Christ;  (5)  Since  even  upon  the  earth  the  fultihnent 
of  the  law  of  Christ  (in  povert}',  humility  and  obedi- 
ence) is  the  highest  duty,  therefore  the  temporal  life, 
also  the  state,  is  subordiuato  to  this  aim  and  thus 
also  to  the  sacrnments  and  in  every  sense  to  the 
Church.  X^\)OTii\\\>i  comnio)!  (jronnd  iwoyqA  all  the 
controversies  regarding  the  Church  and  her  n^form. 
The  papists  drew  the  further  consecjuences,  that  the  Hierarchy 
hierarchical  order,  invested  with  tlu;  administration  '"^o:'/'^' 
of  the  sacraments  and  with  the  authority  of  the 
Church  to  subordinate  to  itself  the  temporal  life,  was 
de  necessitate  salufis;  still  tliej' permitted  the  moral 
duty  of  really  fulfilling  the  law  of  Christ  entirely  to 
recede  behind  the  mechanically  and  irierarchically 
carried  out  administration  of  the  sacraments,  where- 
by the}"  degraded  the  Church  idea, as  the  number  of  the 
predestined  (religious)  and  as  the  communion  of  those 
living  according  to  the  law  ( )f  Christ  (moral) ,  to  a  mere 
phrase,  and  sought  the  guarantee  for  the  legitimacy 
of  the  Church  in  the  strictest  conception  of  the  ob- 
jective  system  ciilin/inttiiiy  in  the  jwpe,  endon- 
gering  however  themselves  the  finished  building 
in  one  point — the  re-ordinations.  The  op{)onents,  ^,^1,''.^!,'';^}* 
how«wer,  hit  upon  "heretical"  ideas,  either,  (1)  By  ''^pp^'^''''^^- 
contending  against  the  hierarchical  order,  since  be- 
yond the  bishop's  office  the  same  is  neither  supported 
by  the  Scriptures,  nor  by  tradition,  or,  (•>)  IJy  allow- 
ing the  religious  and  moral  i<liNi  contained  in  the 
thought  of  predestination  and  in  the  con(\^ption  of 
the  Church  as  the  conununii  ii  of  imitators  of  (Christ, 


t  .. 


i'    . 


M. 


;  I 


I 


i> 


Real 


448        OUTLINES    OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   l)0(JMA. 

to  supersede  the  i(lc£i  of  the  empirical  Church  as  an 
institution  of  sacraments  and  of  law,  and  (3)  By 
measuring,  therefore,  the  priests  and  witli  them  the 
Church  authorities  by  the  law  of  (rod  (in  a  Donatis- 
tic  way),  before  they  conceded  to  tliem  the  right  to 
administer  the  keys,  ''to  loose  and  to  bind''.  The 
opposition  of  all  so-called  *' prie-reformatory"  sects 
and  men  had  its  root  in  these  theses.  Fnnn  them 
one  could  develop  the  seemingly  most  radical  anti- 
theses to  the  ruling  Church,  and  has  developed  tliem 
(devil's  Church,  babel,  anti-Christ,  etc.) ;  j'et  this 
must  not  blind  us  to  the  fact  that  the  opponents  stood 
upon  common  ground.  Men  placed  the  inoral  char- 
acteristics (jf  the  Church  above  the  juristic  and  "ob- 
jective"— certainly  this  was  a  blc;-ised  })rogress — but 
the  fundamental  ideas  (Church  as  sacramental  insti- 
tution, necessity  of  priesthood, />'^^/^/o  (/c/  as  aim, 
lack  of  esteem  for  civil  life)  remained  the  same,  and 
under  the  title  of  the  •sociela.'^  Jideliuni  in  truth 
only  a  legalibtic  mordl  Church  idea  was  established. 
The  Church  is  the  sum  total  of  those  who  carry  out 
the  apostolic  life  according  to  tlio  law  of  Christ. 
Faith  was  considered  only  as  oik-  characteristic 
under  the  conception  of  the  law,  and  ni  the  j)lace  of 
tiiO  commandments  of  the  pi'It-r.-ts  stepped  the  Fran- 
cit;'  iTi  nile,  or  a  Biblicism,  .igainst  whose  apocalyp- 
tic oi  Vv'ild  excrescences  one  had  to  take  refuge  in 
Ibe  iiu  (loi,in:i  a  vid  in  ecclesiastical  tradition.  Neither 
a  t'0«ii')iti!ii(.M  of  believers,  nor  an  invisil)le  Chnrch, 
as  \6   iali-c\3    believed,   did   the  Reformers   have   in 


I 


'i 


as  an 
(3)  By 
em  the 
oiiatis- 
ii^iit  to 
Tlio 
sects 

them 
il  anti- 
1  them 
^'t  this 
s  stood 
/  char- 
tl  "ob- 
5S — but 
1  insti- 
s  aim, 
le,  luul 
I  truth 
lished. 
fry  out 
Christ, 
toristic 
lace  of 

Fraii- 
)calyi)- 
iige  in 
Neither 
hurch. 
ive   in 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      440 

view,  but  their  object  was  to  improve  the  old  Church 
of  priests  and  sacraments  by  dissolving  her  hierarchic 
monarchical  constitution,  by  abolishing  her  assumed 
political  pov/ers  and  by  carefully  sifting  hev  priests 
according  to  the  standard  of  the  law  of  Christ,  or  of 
the  Bible.  On  these  conditions  she  was  also  es- 
teemed by  the  Reftjrmors  as  the  visible,  holy  Church, 
through  which  God  realizes  his  predestinations. 
They  did  not  recognize  that  the  carrying  out  of  this 
Donatistic  thesis  was  an  impossibility  and  that  this 
reformed  Church  must  again  become  hierarchical. 

The  Waldensians  neither  contested  the  Catholic 
worship,  nor  the  sacraments  and  hierarchial  consti- 
tution in  themselves,  but  considered  it  a  deadly  sin 
that  the  Catholic  ecclesiastics  should  exercise  the 
rights  of  successors  of  the  apostles,  without  taking 
upon  themselves  the  apostolic  life,  and  they  protested 
against  the  extensive  governing  power  of  the  pope 
and  the  bishops.  The  Joachimites  and  a  part  of  the  ^f^ 
minorites  united  tho  apocalyptic  with  the  legal  ele- 
ment. Here  also  it  was  not  the  question  of  a  sacra- 
mental institution  and  priesthood,  but  only  of  the 
right  of  hierarchical  divisions  of  rank,  of  the  Divine 
investiture  of  the  pope  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  gov- 
erning power,  which  was  denied  to  the  Church  under 
the  authority  of  the  Franciscan  theory.  The  hand- 
ing over  of  the  whole  legal  sphere  to  the  state  was 
with  many  merely  an  expression  of  their  contempt 
for  this  sphere.  The  pyofessors  of  Purls  and  their 
national-liberal  coterie  attacked  the  pseudo-Isidorian 


\  1 1 


Waldon- 

siaus. 


■Mrr:- 
and 
■rites. 


Profpfisors 
ut  l^iris 
Vttack 

•-t'Uili)-Isi- 
(li)riati. 

()rt"<oriaii 

Devolop- 

lueut. 


^i! 


if 


;i|:; 

'  i  l;l: 


29 


-I 


nt 


i5()       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


m 


WiL-lif  and 
Huss. 


and  Gregorian  (lovolopment  of  the  i)apacy  and  of  the 
conytitntion  at  the  root,  and  yet  they  only  intended 
primarily  to  paralyze  the  papal  finance  system  and 
to  heal  the  injury  to  the  Church  through  an  episco- 
palianism,  which,  in  view  of  what  the  Church 
already  was  as  a  Roman  power,  must  he  desig- 
nated Utopian.  Wiclif  and  Huss — the  latter  a 
p  )werful  agitator  in  the  spirit  of  Wiclif  hut  with- 
out theological  independence — represent  the  ripest 
})hase  of  the  reform  movements  of  the  Middle  Ages: 
(1)  They  showed  that  the  cultus  and  sacramental 
practices  everywhere  wore  hampered  and  vitiated 
by  human  tenets  (indulgences,  confessions,  absolute 
pardoning  power  of  the  priests,  iiKddluc.atio  injidel- 
inniy  saints-,  image-,  relic-worship,  special  masses, 
sacramentals,  Wiclif  also  against  transubstantiation) ; 
they  demanded  plainness,  intelligibleness  (language 
of  the  country)  and  spirituality  of  worship;  {'I)  They 
demanded  a  reform  of  the  hierarchy  and  of  the  secu- 
larized mendicant  orders ;  these  all,  the  pope  at  the 
head,  must  return  to  an  apostolic  luinisiry;  the  pope 
is  only  the  first  servant  of  Christ,  not  his  represen- 
tative; all  governing  must  cease;  (;>)  Tliej'-,  like 
Thomas,  brought  to  the  front  the  Augustinian  pre- 
destination Church  idea,  yet  while  Thomas  in  join- 
ing to  it  the  empirical  idea  disposes  of  everything 
moral  only  through  the  medium  of  the  sacraments, 
they,  without  robbing  the  sacraments  (^f  their  im- 
portance, raised  to  llif>  c(»ntrjd  place  the  idea  that 
the  empiri(;al  CUiurch  nuist  be  the  kingdom  in  which 


& 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      451 


True    Nota 
Ik'clrsiat'. 


Faith  Not 

Eiuplia 

Kized. 


the  Imc  of  Christ  govorns,  Tlioy  taught  that  tho  ^'Xns/ 
law  of  Christ  is  tho  true  uofd  crclcsiae;  thtuvfcjro  in 
accordance  with  this  fuiKlamental  principle  the  right 
also  of  the  priesthood  and  the  manner  of  adniinistca'ing 
the  sacraments  nnist  1h' determined.  Wiclif  thei-ehy 
contested  the  iii(/('/)eii</('ii/  right  of  the  ch'rgy  lo  he 
representatives  of  the  Chnrch  and  achninistrators  of 
tho  means  of  grace  and  made  it  dependent  irpon  the 
ohserving  of  the  lev  Chrisfi.  '"Faith"  was  also 
passed  over  hy  Wiclif  and  Hnss.  In  tnrning  with  all 
their  might  against  the  hierarchy  and  against  the 
objective,  legal  idea  of  the  Chnrch  system,  they 
placed  the  legal  Church  idea  in  opposition  in  tho 
judicial.  Tho  "y/r/cs-  (((rifafc  fni-tiiafa^\  t.'.at  is, 
the  observance  of  the  law,  alone  gives  legitimjicy  to 
the  Church.  Thus  much  they  did  for  the  in- 
wardness of  the  contemplaticjn  of  the  Church — the 
hierarchical  conception  of  the  Church  had  still  in  op- 
position to  their  own  an  element  of  truth,  though  a 
perverted  one:  That  God  builds  his  Church  upon 
earth  by  his  grace  in  the  midst  of  sin,  and  that  holi- 
ness in  a  religious  sense  is  no  mark  that  can  be 
recognized  by  a  legal  standard  (on  the  Church  idea  of 
Thomas  ;md  the  Prio-Reformers,  see  Gottschick  i. 
d.  Ztschr.  f.  KGesch.  Bd.  VIII). 


V 


>,.     I 


452       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


3.   On  iJio  JJistorff  of  Ecclesinstical  Science. 

Historios  of  philosoplij'  by  Erdmann,  Uber\vo«]j-neinze, 
Windolband,  Stockl,  Baur,  Voiles  ill).  D(l.  3.  Ud.  Worner, 
Scholastik  d.  spateren  MA.  a  Bde,  18«1  IF.  Kitschl,  Jldca 
implicita,  1890. 


i  ' 


i 


CanspR  of 

Revival    of 

Science. 


Mendicant 

Orders  and 

Aristotle, 


Authority 
of  Churcli 

Over 
Science. 


The  groat  revival  of  science  after  the  beginning  of 
the  I'Mh  century  was  occasioned,  (1)  By  the  mighty 
triumph  of  the  Church  and  the  papac}-  under  Inno- 
cent III.,  (2)  By  the  exaltation  of  piety  since  St. 
Francis,  (3)  By  the  enlargement  and  enrichment  of  the 
general  culture  and  by  the  discovery  of  the  genuine 
Arl-.totle  (contact  with  the  Orient;  transmission  of 
Greek  philosophy  through  Arabs  and  Jews;  the 
supernaturalistic  Avicenna.  f  1037,  the  pantheistic 
Averrhoes,  f  HOB;  Maimonides'  influence  u};on 
Thomas  and  oilers).  The  two  new  great  powers, 
the  mendicant  orders  and  Aristotle,  were  obliged  to 
secure  their  place  in  science  by  fighting  for  it;  the 
latter  conquered,  since  it  was  plain  that  he  had  ren- 
dered the  best  service  in  opposition  to  an  eccentric 
realism,  which  leads  to  pantheism.  A  moderated 
realism  now  developed,  which  recognized  the  uni- 
versal "  in  re",  but  knew  how  to  add  them  accord- 
ing to  need,  either  ^'  ante^\  or  "j;o,s'f  rei)i'\ 

The  new  science  like  the  older  sought  to  ex- 
plain all  things  through  reference  to  God;  but  this 
reference  meant  the  same  as  the  submission  of  all 
knowledge  to  the  authority  of  the  Church.  In  a 
certain  sense  men  were  more  fettered  in  the  13th 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.      453 


century  than  formerly;  for  not  only  the  old  doyma 
{art icnli  fide ('),  but  the  whole  territory  of  ecclesias- 
tical activity  was  considered  absolute  authority,  and 
the  pre-supposition  that  every  authority  in  single 
questions  is  of  e(iual  weight  with  the  ratio  was 
now  first  fully  expressed.  The  theologians  of  the 
mendicant  orders  justifi(!d  "scientificall}'"  the  whole 
constitution  of  the  Cliurch,  with  its  latest  institu- 
tions and  doctrines,  upon  the  same  plane  with  the 
"  credo''''  and  the  "  intelli<j<)'\  Anselm  had  striven  to 
erect  a  rational  structure  upon  the  foundation  of 
authoritative  revelation ;  with  the  later  theologians 
the  jumbling  of  authorities  in  a  most  unconcerned 
manner  was  a  principle.  Although  they  adhered  to 
the  theory  that  theology  is  a  speculative  science 
which  culminates  in  the  visio  dei,  yet  so  great  was 
their  confidence  in  the  Church  that  they  continually 
added  to  the  speculative  structure  the  tenets  of  her 
authority.  Hence  originated  the  theory  that  there 
exist  a  natural  and  a  revealed  theology;  still  they 
conceived  these  as  being  in  closest  harmony,  the  one 
as  the  supplement  and  complement  of  the  other;  and 
they  were  confident  that  the  whole  was  tenable  even 
before  the  bar  of  reason.  The  abundance  of  the 
material  to  be  mastered  w^as  unbounded,  as  well  in 
regard  to  revelation  (the  whole  Bible,  the  doctrine 
and  practice  of  the  Church),  as  in  regard  to  reason 
(Aristotle).  Nevertheless  they  advanced  from  the 
"  Sentences"  to  a  system  ("  summa") :  That  which 
the  Church  retains  in  life,  the  dominion  over  the 


Anst'lm's 
Aim. 


Natural 

and 
Revealed 
The(jl()f,'y. 


il 


i^ 


454       OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


IP 


;:    I 


Ml 


Thn)l(i(:y 

t'oiiiprt'- 

hciids  All 

Knowl- 


KnowledKe 
of  Church 
Doctrine  is 
Kuovsiedge 
or  God. 


The 

Sumnia    of 

Thomas. 


world,  is  also  to  bo  reflected  in  its  theology.  The 
new  doLcniatism  was  the  dialectic-systematical  treat- 
ment  of  ecclesiastical  dogma  and  of  the  acts  of  the 
Chiircli,  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  same  into 
a  single  system  comi)reh(>nding  everything  in  the 
highest  sense  worthy  of  knowledge,  and  of  proving  it, 
and  then  of  rendering  serviceable  tt)  the  Church  all  the 
forces  of  th(3  mind  and  the  whol(>  knowledge  of  the 
world.  To  this  purpose,  however,  was  the  other  sub- 
jective one  united  of  rising  to  God  and  rejoicing  in  his 
presence.  But  both  j)urp()ses  now  coincided :  Knowl- 
edge of  the  Church  doctrines  is  knowledge  of  God, 
for  the  Church  is  the  present  Christ,  Therein 
were  these  scholastics  not  servile  workers  for  the 
Church — on  the  contrary :  Consciously  they  sought 
knowledge  only  for  the  benefit  of  their  souls,  yet 
they  breathed  only  within  the  Church.  The  struc- 
ture which  they  raised  c(jlkipsed,  but  their  work  in- 
deed was  a  progress  in  the  history  of  science. 

What  has  been  said  above,  has  reference  to  the 
prie-Scotistic  scholasticism,  above  all  to  Thomas. 
His ''sumnia"  is  characterized,  (I)  By  i;he  conviction 
that  religion  and  theology  are  essentially  of  a  specu- 
lative (not  practical)  nature,  that  therefore  they 
must  be  acquired  b}^  thinking,  and  that  finally  no 
contradiction  can  arise  between  reason  and  revela- 
tion; ("2)  By  a  firm  adherence  to  the  Augustinian 
doctrine  of  God,  of  predestination,  sin  and  grace 
(only  upon  the  conception  of  God  did  the  Aristotelian 
philosoph}"  have  an  influence;  the  strict  elevation  of 


DEVELOI'MKNT   oF   DOCTKINK   Ol'   SIN,   KTC 


I 


•;> 


.  I 


I'llC     WOllci-llistorical       Tlmums 

I  hitcH 
Aii;,'iisiint* 

ami 
Aristotle, 


(lit»  Holy  St'ri[)tiin's  as  ili(»  only  sal'o  rrvt'hitiuii 
Thomas  also  a('('t'[)tt'tl  trmii  Augustiiu') ;  {'■'>)  By  a 
(looply  punotratinj^'  kuowlotlgo  of  Aristotle  and  by  an 
oxtonsivo  use  of  his  philosophy,  as  fai"  as  Augustin- 
ianisni  would  permit;  (1)  By  a  bold  Justilicatioii  of 
the  highest  claims  of  the  Church  upon  a  genial 
theory  of  the  state  and  a  wonderfully  careful  obser- 
vation of  the  empirical  tendencies  of  tlie  pai)al  sys- 
tem   of    Church    and     slate, 

importance  of  Thomas  consists  in  his  uniting  of 
Augustine  and  Aristotle.  As  a  pupil  of  Augustine 
he  is  a  speculative  thinker,  full  of  coniideiice  and  yet 
in  him  are  already  found  the  germs  of  tl  i' destruction 
of  the  absolute  theology.  For  theology  as  a  whole 
he  still  sought  to  maintain  the  impression  of  absolute 
validity;  in  detail  arbitrary  and  relative  ideas  al- 
ready took  the  place  of  the  necessar3',  while  ho  no 
longer  deduced  purely  rationally  the  ariivuU  Jidei^ 
like  Anselm.* 

But  the  strictly  necessary  was  also  not  in  every  <^'i.""<'h  i^- 

'f  -J  J      sists  upon 

respect  serviceable  to  the   Church.     She  demanded  ^Jnissiou!^" 

*  The  delineation  of  the  sunima  a;,'recs  with  the  fuinhiiiuMit.ii  iilea  of 
God;  Tlirougli  (Jod  to  Ciod.  TJir  fust  pai-t  (ll'.t  (juaf -i  )  treats'  f  (lod  and 
the  issue  of  all  tlun^^s  from  (Jod;  th(>  second  pact,  si  ^  1st  (III  qiiaest.) 
of  general  morality;  the  sei  .ml  part,  see.  ;.M  (IS'.»  (piaest.  )  of  spceial 
morality  under  the  point  of  vii-w  of  the  return  of  tlie  rational  creature  to 
God ;  the  third  part,  which  Thomas  \v."t  no.  able  to  finish,  of  Christ,  the  sac- 
ramenta  and  esehatoloKy.  The  proceeding?  in  every  separate  question  is  hy 
tlio  method  of  contradiction.  All  reasons  which  ^peak  fr;/a('»,s^  the  correct 
conception  of  the  doctrines  are  j,'i\«n  expression  {"(lij]icHlt(tt>'s").  In 
general  the  governing  principle  is  tiiat  the  whole  system  must  he  based 
upon  the  authority  of  revelation;  "ittihn-  tatncn  srirni  tlnrtihid  ctidm  ni- 
tione  humana,  iion  qiiklcm  (td  probandaiii  .//V/toi  (i^riA  per  uoc  tom.kuetl'r 
MKRjTm  FiDEi),  sed  ad  mani/estandnni  (diqna  alia,  quae  traduntnr  hi  hue 
doctrina.  Cum  enim  yratia  iion  tollat  naturain,  scd  perficiut,  oportet 
quod  naturalis  ratio  subserviat  jklti". 


4 


■  'i 


I   '1 
If 


;  i 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


4 


/. 


// 


^  >^^ 


/ 


P 


lo 


p 


CA 


:/. 


1.0 


I.I 


1^  Uk 

lii    12.2 


nm 


II 


2.0 


1.8 


II 
II 

!.25 

1.4 

1^ 

M 

6"     - 

^ 


VI 


^■ 


? 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


% 


\ 


6^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4503 


V 
^ 


i 


\ 


ThPolo- 
^ians 


450       OUTLINES  OF   THE   IIISTOllY   OF   DOCJMA. 

here  also  that  th(?  deal  should  1)0  a  <U'U.r  niditts; 
Sho  vvanit'd  a  theology  which  proved  the  speculative 
necessity  of  her  system  and  one  which  taught 
blind  submission.  Thomas'  theology  alone  could  not 
satisfy.  With  all  its  ecclesiastical  bent  it  could  not 
deny  the  fundamental  thought,  that  God  and  the 
soul,  the  sold  and  God  are  everything.  From  this 
Augustinian- Areopagite  attitude  that  "  secondary- 
mysticism"  will  always  be  developed  in  which  the 
individual  endeavors  to  go  his  own  way.  Where 
there  is  inward  conviction,  there  is  also  indepen- 
dence. It  was  of  benefit  to  the  Church  that  theology 
soon  took  another  turn.  It  grew  skeptical  in  regard 
"'■"Teal!*''''  to  the  "  general",  the  "  idea",  which  should  be  the 
"substance".  Under  the  continuous  study  of  Aris- 
totle causalitfj  became  the  principal  idea  in  place  of 
immanence.  The  scientific  sense  grew  stronger; 
details  in  their  concrete  expression  gained  in  interest : 
Will  ruled  the  world,  the  w411  of  God  and  the  will 
of  the  individual,  not  an  unintelligible  substance,  or 
a  constructed  universal  intellect.  Reason  recognized 
the  series  of  causalities  and  ended  in  the  discernment 
of  arbitrariness  and  mere  contingencies.  Duns 
Scotus,  the  most  penetrating  thinker  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  marks  this  immense  change ;  but  it  was  first 
consummated  since  Occam. 

The  consequence  of  this  change  was  not  however  the 
protest  against  the  Church  doctrine  with  its  absolute 
tenets,  nor  the  attempt  to  try  these  by  the  principles 
upon  which  they  were  based,  but   the  increasing 


Authority 
of  Church 
Increased. 


I)Evkl()PMp:nt  of  doctiune  of  sin,  etc.     J 57 


■f   ■'   n 


Nominal- 
isiii  Iltul 
(irt'iit  Ad- 
viintugi'S. 


authoi'Hij  of  the  (^hurcJi.  At  her  cl(M)r  was  laid  t^„J!j;"i'J'j|"t„ 
what  ratio  and  auctoritas  onco  had  unitedly  ^"^'"""'^y 
borne,  not  in  an  act  of  despair  but  as  a  self-evident 
act  of  obedience.  Socinianism  first  protested.  Pro- 
testantism exaniincjd  into  the  foundations  of  the 
doctrine — post-Tridentine  Catholicism  pursued  the 
direction  indicated  further:  In  this  icdi/,  tchilc  noni- 
inalisuL  lH'</(tu  to  rule,  the  (jronnd  ints  soon  iron 
fur  the  later  triuitarian  derelopnient  of  doc- 
trine. 

Nominalism  had  great  advantages:  It  began  to 
see  clearly  that  religion  is  something  else  than 
knowledge  and  philosophy,  while  Thomas  was  want- 
ing in  clearness;  it  knew  the  importance  of  the 
concrete  in  opposition  to  the  hollowness  of  the  ab- 
stract (laying  the  foundation  for  a  new  psychology); 
it  recognized  the  will,  laid  stress  upon  this  property 
also  in  God,  strongly  emphasized  the  personality  of 
God  and  thereby  first  put  an  end  to  the  Neo-Platonic 
theosophy  which  mixed  up  God  and  the  world;  it 
grasped  the  positiveness  of  historical  religion  more 
firmly, — but  it  forfeited,  together  with  confidence 
in  an  absolute  knowledge,  also  confidence  in  the 
majesty  of  the  moral  law  and  thereby  emptied  the 
conception  of  God  and  exposed  him  to  arbitrariness, 
including  in  the  "  positive",  to  which  it  submitted, 
the  Church  with  its  whole  apparatus — the  commands 
of  the  religious  and  moral  law  are  arbitrary,  but 
the  commands  of  the  Church  are  absolute.  It  estab-  lisiieu 
lished   in  dogmatics  the  sovereign  right  of  casuis-   casuistry. 


«  ii  ,  i 


J  ; 


11. 
t 


1 1 


458       orTIJNES   OF  THE   IIISTOHY    OF  DOOMA. 


Fides  Im- 

plifiUi 
Sufficient. 


Absurdity 
tho  Stump 

of 
Religion. 


Ausrustin- 

iaiiisiii 
Gradually 
Cast  Off. 


try,  alivady  anticiiuitcd  by  tho  (liscipliiic  of  pen- 
aii('(!  not  only,  but  als(>  l)y  ibo  dialectics  of  the 
Tlioniists:  Kvcrythinj^  in  revelation  depends  upon 
the  Divine  will  which  is  arbitrary;  therefore  intel- 
locl  is  able  to  prove  at  most  only  the  ^^  conveniens'' 
of  tilings  ordained.  In  so  far  however  as  it  has  its 
own  knowledge  there  exists  a  double  trnfh,  the  re- 
ligions and  the  natural;  to  the  former  one  submits 
and  in  this  very  submission  cimsists  the  merit  of 
the  faith.  In  gii'ater  measure  (not  recoiling  even 
at  the  frivolous)  nominalism  acknowledged  the  suffi- 
cienc}'  of  the  " //V/c.s  ini))]irif(('\:  true,  it  here  found 
an  example  in  the  papal  d(?cretals.  Had  not  Inno- 
cent IV.  expressly  taught  that  it  was  sufficient  for 
the  laity  to  believe  in  a  requiting  God,  as  for  the 
rest  to  submit  to  the  Church  doctrine?  Absurdity 
and  authority  now  became  the  stamp  of  religious 
truth.  While  freeing  themselves  from  the  load  of 
speculative  monstrosities  and  the  deceptive  "  neces- 
sity of  thinking",  men  took  upon  themselves  the 
dreadful  load  of  a  faith  the  content  of  which  they 
themselves  declared  to  bo  arbitrary  and  opaque,  and 
which  they  therefore  were  able  to  wear  only  as  a 
uniform. 

Closely  allied  with  this  development  was  another, 
the  gradual  casting  oft'  of  Augustinianism  and  the 
reinstatement  of  Roman  moralism,  now  confirmed 
by  Aristotle.  The  weight  of  guilt  and  the  power  of 
grace  became  relative  magnitudes.  From  Aristotle 
they  learned  that  man  by  his  freedom  stands  inde- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   DOCTRINE   OF   8TN,  ETC.      '0)9 


IK3ntlent  boforo  (lod,  and  siiicc  they  liad  cast  <»1V 
Augustine's  doctrine  concernin}^  thc"lirst  and  last 
things",  they  also,  under  ct)ver  of  his  words, 
stripped  off  his  doctrine  of  grace.  Everything  in 
religion  and  ethics  became  only  probable,  redenij)-  I'r.i.aiity 
tion  itself  through  Christ  was  placed  among  the  most 
uncertain  categories.  The  fundamental  principles  of 
a  universal  religious  and  moral  dii)lomacy  were  ap- 
plied to  objective  religion  and  to  subjective  religious- 
ness. The  holiness  of  God  was  extinguished :  lie  is  nniin<'ss.)f 
not  entirely  severe,  not  entirely  holy.  Faith  need  ^^i"^*^*"''- 
not  be  a  full  surrender,  penance  not  i)erfect  repent- 
ance, love  not  perfect  love.  Everywhere  a  "  certain 
standard "  (Aristotle)  is  sufficient  and  whatever  is 
wanting  is  supplied  by  the  sacraments  and  l)y  adher- 
ence to  the  Church;  for  the  religion  of  revelation 
was  given  to  make  the  way  to  heaven  easy,  Jind  the 
Church  alone  is  able  to  announce  what  "  standard" 
and  what  accidental  merits  will  satisfy  God.  This 
is  the  "  Aristotelianism"  or  the  "  reasoning"  of  the 
nominalistic  scholastics  w4iich  Luther  hated  and 
which  the  Jesuits  in  the  post-Tridentine  times  fully 
introduced  into  the  Church. 

At  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  even  in  the  H.iiction 
14th  century,  this  nominalism,  which  renders  relig-  ^"('".jl"*'' 
ion  void,  called  forth  great  reactions,  yvi  notwith- 
standing it  remained  in  vogue  at  the  universities. 
Not  only  the  theologians  of  the  Dominican  order 
contradicted  it  again  and  again,  but  outside  of  the 
order  also  an  Augustinian  reaction  broke  forth  in 


isin. 


,1.     >l 


'  n 


■,)■ 


51 


-*  t: 


r      :      !i 


l^ 


i 


M 


■\CA)       OITI.INKS   OK     IHK    IIISIOKV    OF   DfXiMA. 


n>\] 


w 


1> rail wjird ilia,  Wiclift',  Jlu.ss,  Wcsel,  Wossel  ami 
others.  They  stood  up  against  Pelagianism,  al- 
though they  allowed  wide  play  to  the  sacraments, 

7tevivJd"  lhey/(/('.s' /////>//(,' //a  and  Church  authority.  A  power- 
ful ally  against  noiuinalism,  which  by  its  hollow 
forinalistic  and  dialectic  principles  in  the  lAth  cen- 
tury made  itself  outright  desi)icablo,  was  gained  by 
an  Augustinian  reaction  in  favor  of  Plato  who  at 
that  time  was  being  brought  to  light  again.  A  new 
spirit  emanated  from  him  and  from  the  rediscovered 
anticpiit}^:  It  sought  knowledge  from  the  liriruj^ 
and  reached  out  toward  those  ideals  which  set  the 
individual  free  and  elevate  him  above  the  common 
world.  Through  violent  disturbances  the  new  spirit 
announced  itself  and  in  the  beginning  it  seemed  to 
threaten  Christianity  with  paganism ;  yet  those  who 

Nicholas  of  represented  the  renaissance  most  brilliantly  (Nich- 

Kus, 

Erasiuua.  oJas  of  Kus,  Erasmus  and  others)  only  wished  to 
do  away  with  unspiritual  ecclesiasticism  and  its 
empty  science,  but  not  really  to  jeopardize  the  Church 
and  the  dogma.  The  restored  confidence  in  the  rec- 
ognizable unity  of  all  things,  the  bold  soaring  of  the 
fantasy  inspired  by  anticpiity  and  the  discovery  of 
new  worlds,  these  founded  the  new  science.  Nomin- 
alistic  science  did  not  become  by  purification  an 
exact  science,  but  a  new  spirit  moved  among  the 
withered  foliage  of  scholasticism,  and  gained  confi- 
dence and  strength  to  extract  the  secrets  from  nat- 
ure also,  as  well  as  from  the  vivid  speculations  of 
Plato  which  inspire  the  whole  man,  and  from  inter- 


lel    anil 

"^m,    ul- 

imunts, 

powur- 

hoUow 

•th  cen- 

ined  by 

who  at 

A  now 

covered 

set  the 
lommon 
w  spirit 
?med  to 
3se  who 
(Nich- 
shed  to 
and  its 
Church 
the  rec- 
^  of  the 
very  of 
Nomin- 
tion  an 
mg  the 
\  confi- 
)m  nat- 
;ions  of 
1  inter- 


I 


ticism. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.       IGl 

course  with  the  living.  But  ihcolof/f/  did  not  at  first 
profit  by  it.  It  was  sinii)ly  pushed  asido.  The  |f,'|JI",',"n'js"s 
Christian  humanists  also  wore  no  theologians,  but  ^An'^rusUa* 
only  learned  patristic  scholars  with  IMatonic-Fran- 
cisCf'in  ideals, — at  best  only  August  inians.  No  one 
really  had  any  longer  any  confidence  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal doctrine,  but  through  a  sense  for  the  orifft'nal 
teaching,  which  th(*  renaissance  bad  awakened,  a 
new  theology  wjis  prepared. 

4.    The  Reniinfinff  of  Dogmatics  inio  S('h<tl(isfics. 

In  the  scholasticism  of  the  1 :5th  century  the  (^cci-  rrosuppo- 
dental  Church  obtained  a  homogeneous,  systematic  "'^  ^••"•'a»»- 
representation  of  its  faith.  The  pre-sui)positions 
were,  (I)  The  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  dogmas  of  the 
councils,  (2)  Augustinianism,  (o)  The  development 
of  ecclesiasticism  since  the  0th  century,  (1)  The 
Aristotelian  philosophy.  Individual  bliss  in  the 
hereafter  is  still  the  Jim's  tJieolorjiae,  but  in  so  far  as 
the  sacraments,  which  serve  this  purpose,  restore  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  upon  earth  also  as  a  power  of  lovo 
(already  since  Augustine),  a  second  aim  was  intro- 
duced into  theologj":  It  is  not  on\y  food  for  the  soul 
but  also  ecclesiasticism.  But  the  difference  be- 
tween these  two  ideas  has  never  been  adjusted  in 
Catholicism.  In  them  grace  and  merit  are  the  two 
centres  of  the  parabola  of  the  mediaeval  concei)tion 
of  Christianity. 

Only  the  old  art icid i  fidei  were  dogmas  in  a  strict 


t| 


v  \ 


'  ill 


\  ' 


ll 


Ui 


•  \  I 

"  i 


402       OrTIJXKS   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


^•', 


Articuli 

Fii'.ri  Only 

I{<al 

I)<))<niaH. 


TlirtT-fold 

Task  of 

Soholasti 

cisiii. 


sense;  but  siiicc  tlio  tninsuhHtantiation  was  consid- 
ered as  conferred  together  with  the  incarnation,  the 
whole  sacramental  system  was  in  reality  raised  to 
the  heij^ht  of  an  absolute  doctrine  of  faith.  The 
boundary  between  dogma  and  the<»logical  j)recei)t 
was  entirely  uncertain  in  details.  No  one  could  any 
longer  state  what  the  Church  really  did  teach,  and 
the  latter  itself  always  took  care  to  map  out  the 
province  of  the  necessary  faith. 

The  task  of  scholasticism  was  a  triple  one:  (I) 
To  treat  the  old  (wliculi  Jhlci  scientifically  and  to 
place  them  vrithin  the  line  drawn  about  the  sacra- 
ments and  the  merits;  (5)  To  give  a  form  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  sacraments,  (3)  To  adjust  the  difference 
between  principles  of  ecclesiastical  action  and  Au- 
gustinianism.  These  tasks  it  carried  out  in  a  mag- 
nificent manner,  yet  in  doing  so  it  soon  found  itself 
at  variance  with  piety,  which  could  no  longer  find 
its  true  expression  (Augustinian  reactions)  in  the 
official  theolog}'  (the  nominalistic)  and  therefore 
pushed  it  aside. 


S'. 


The  Working  Over  of  the   Traditional 
Articuli  Fidei. 


Remould- 
inj^  of 

Doctrint?  of 
Gotl. 


1.  In  the  beginning  the  Augustinian- Areopagite 
conception  of  God  governed  the  theology  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  (conception  of  the  necessary  going  forth  of 
the  one  Being;  the  Substance  determining  every- 
thing;  the  virtual  existence  of  God  in   the  world; 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.       <C3 


ontological  proof  of  Aiisoliii)  ;  hut  later  tlio  danj^cr 
from  pantheism  was  feh  (Amah'ich   of  P>aiia,  J)avi<l 
of   Diiianto).       Thomas    cmlcavorcd     to    unite    tlio 
Au^ustiniai)  and  the  Aristotelian  ('on(H'})ti()n  of  (iod  :    j^'^Y^mI,'! 
(iod    is  ahsolutc^  suhstaneo,  8<'lf-cons('i(Mis  thinkiiiL,',    '  i"m";ni'.'i'' 

.  '  Ari^t.itil- 

(/(■///.s  ?>>/;v/.s';  h(3  IS  diiierent  from  the  world  (e(»sm(»-     iiMCmi- 

rcplidllH. 

logical  proof) .  Yet  Thomas  also  still  had  the  most 
lively  interest  in  emj)hasiziug  the  ahsolute  suf- 
ficiency and  necessity  of  (Iod  (in  (lod's  own  personal 
end  tlio  world  is  included);  for  only  the  necessary 
can  1)0  recognized  with  certainty;  hliss  however 
depends  upon  certain  knowledge.  Vet  Duns  con- 
tested the  concei)tion  of  a  necessary  outgoing«Being, 
overthrew  all  proofs  of  (iod,  denied  also  that  the 
divine  Will  could  be  measured  l>y  our  ethical  "modes 
of  thought",  and  conceived  of  Ood  merely  as  a  Free- 
Will  with  unfathomable  motives,  i.e.  without  these 
(arbitrariness).  ()i*cam  (juestioned  also  the  conception 
of  the  pn'mnni  niorciis  iitimohilo  and  [)ronounced 
monotheism  onU'  jjnfhahilior  than  polytheism.  The 
contradiction  betwei^n  Thomists  and  Scotists  is  ^ivTwwn^ 
found  in  their  dilferent  conceptions  of  the  relation 
of  man  to  God.  The  former  looked  ui)on  this 
as  dependence  and  recognized  in  the  (jood  the 
essence  of  God  (God  wills  a  thing  because  it  is 
good) ;  the  latter  separated  frod  and  the  creature, 
conceived  the  latter  as  indejwndent  but  in  duty 
bound  to  the  Divine  com  mauds  which  originate  in 
the  pleasure  of  God  (a  thing  is  good  because  God 
wills  it).     Yonder  predestination,  here  arbitrariness. 


Thomists 

and 
ScolistA. 


1 

p.- 

I  i  ill 


t  1 


^n 


'Ij: 


F!:^  - 


i    fl- 


D«vtrlni'  of 
Trinity. 


Panthoism 
of  Tiiomos. 


4G4        OUTLINES   OF  THK   HISTOKY    oK    DOfSMA. 

Theology  indeed  uttered  the  Hentence  ''jxih-r  in  Jilio 
rercldfiis^'  with  tlie  lips,  hut  heeded  it  not. 

2.  The  eonstruclion  of  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity 
helonginl  entirely  to  scientific  lahor,  ;iftcr  tritheistic 
(Ro.sc(^llin)  and  niodalistic  (Al)clard)  attempts  had 
been  repuls(Ml.  Thoniism  necessarily  retained  an 
inclination  to  modalism  (even  the  Jjonihard  was  ac- 
cused of  substantializing  the  (J i rind  csscnfid  and 
hence  of  "(juaternity"),  while  the  Scotistic  school 
kept  the  Persons  sharply  separated.  In  the  subtile 
researches  the  trinity  became  a  scliool  problem. 
The  treatment  of  it  proved  that  the  faith  of  the 
Occident  did  not  live;  in  this  transmitted  doctrine. 

15.  With  Thomas  are  still  found  remnants  of  the 
pantheistic  way  of  thinking  (creation  as  .'ictualiza- 
tion  of  the  Divine  ideas;  everything  which  is  exists 
only  imrUcipaiione  dei;  diviud,  honitds  est  jinis 
rernm  onuiinniy  therefore  not  an  independent  aim 
in  the  world) ;  yet  he  by  introducing  the  Aristo- 
telian idea  had  already  essentially  completed  the  sep- 
aration of  God  from  the  creature,  and  he  endeavored 
to  restore  the  pure  idea  of  creation.  The  contrasts 
were  reflected  in  the  contest  about  the  beginning  of 
the  world.  In  the  Scotistic  school  God's  own  pur- 
pose and  that  of  the  creatures  were  sharply  separated. 
The  innumerable  host  of  questions  concerning  the 
government  of  the  world,  the  theodicy,  etc.,  which 
scholasticism  again  propounded,  belongs  to  the  his- 
tory of  theology.  Thomas  assumed  that  God  directs 
all  thincfs  "  inmtediate''   and  also  effects  the  cor- 


'Iw. 

Niitiins; 

.lollll 

l)ftiimH- 

C(>I1U8. 


DKVKLOPMKXT   OK    DOCTKINK   OK   SIN,  KTC.       105 

rupiiitnes  rcrnin  '^iKdsi  per  dcridoifi''  (Origon, 
Augustine) ;  the  Scotists  would  acknowlodgo  only  an 
indirect  direction  and  contested  the  Noo-Platonic 
doctrine  of  a  liidlniu  in  the  interest  of  God  and  of 
the  independence  uf  man. 

4.  Together  with  a  " /m/rt"  against  the  "nihil-  nootrm..  ..r 
ism"  of  the  Lombard  who  denied  that  God  through 
the  incarnation  has  become  something,  the  doctrine 
of  the  two  natures  was  transmitted  to  the  great 
scholastics.  The  conception  of  John  Damascenus 
was  the  prescribed  one ;  but  the  hypostatical  imion 
was  treated  as  a  school  problem.  The  Thomists  con- 
ceived the  human  as  i)assive  and  accidental  and 
really  continued  in  the  monophysitic  conception. 
Duns  endeavored  to  save  the  humanity  of  Christ, 
to  place  certain  limits  to  the  human  knowledge  of 
Christ  and  to  attribute  existence  also  to  the  liuman  in- 
dividual nature  of  Christ.  Still  within  this  territory 
Thomism  remained  victorious.  Practically  indeed 
men  made  use  of  the  Christological  dogma  only  in 
the  dogma  of  the  eucharist,  and  the  latest  scholasti- 
cism explained  the  same  as  necessary  and  reasonable 
(Occam. )  (God  might  also  have  assumed  the  natura 
asinina  and  still  have  been  able  to  save  us).  The 
doctrine  of  the  work  of  Christ  did  not  have  its  root 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  two  natures,  but  in  the  thought 
of  the  merit  of  the  sinless  man  Jesus,  whose  life  had 
a  divine  value.  {Ch  v  i  stun  passu  s  est  seennclem  car- 
nem).     The  idea  of  the  sat isf actio  (Halesius,  Al-    ^tTon^Sf' 

bertus)  was  also  brought  up  again.     Thomas  treated 
30 


I 


I 


Christ. 


If     ; 


(■     «• 


i 


!■  11 


W'f 


ii 


Hit; 


OITMNKS   OK   Tin:    IIISTOKV    Ol'    |m»(;MA. 


S 


II:. 


SacTill- 

cluiii  Ai'- 

coptissi- 

Ullllll. 


Ansolm's 

DfX'trino 

Extended, 


it,  but  explained  tlie  n'tlfinptioii  tiinm^'ii  {\u)  deatii  of 
Ciirist  as  l>eiii;<  siinpiy  tlie  most  jUI iiuj  way.  lie- 
cauHo  in  it  is  represented  tlie  sum  of  all  imaj^iiiary 
HufTerin^,  this  death,  whieli  hrinj^s  before  our  mind 
tlio  love  of  (iod,  iH'Comes  an  example  for  us,  recalls  us 
from  sin  and  a\vak<»ns  as  a  motiveour  love  in  return. 
Alon;^side  the  snhjcci i >'(>  Thomas  also  emphasized 
t\m  ohjrcf ire:  Tf  (iod  had  jcdeemed  \\h  .sola  vol ini- 
((iff,  l;e  would  not  have  been  able  to  gain  so  much 
for  us;  (MuMsl's  death  has  obtained  for  us  uot  only 
frec.'dom  from  guilt,  but  also  the  (/nitut  Jiisf  ijirans 
and  Ihi!  (/loria  hcafihuhnis.  I^foreover  all  possible 
j»oints  of  view  wesn*  (juoted,  from  which  thi^  death  of 
(Mn-ist  maybe  regarded.  As  s<(l isf((cti(>  it  insiiprr- 
(ihididdiis,  since  as  regards  all  satisfaction  the  rulo 
holds  good,  that  tho  ofYended  one  loves  the  gift 
tendered  by  himself  more  than  he  liat(»s  the  ofTenco 
{sdcvificiuni  acccpiissinnint).  This  ai)j)arently  cor- 
rect and  worthy  idea  became  fatal;  it  is  plain  that 
Thoniits  also  misjudges  Ihe  siiffcviwii  of  juniishmeiit 
and  with  it  the  full  gravity  of  sin.  In  the  doctrine 
regarding  merit  the  ri'ality  (not  the  possibility  only) 
of  our  reconciliation  through  the  death  of  Christ 
was  to  bo  expresi^ed.  Setting  aside  the  doctrine  of 
the  two  natures  the  idea  of  Anselm  was  further  car- 
ried out,  that  the  merit  gained  through  tho  voluntary 
suffering  dc^scends  from  tho  head  to  the  members: 
'"'' capui  ct  incnibra  sunt  (pntsi  inia  persona  nn/stica, 
et  iih'o  sat isf actio  CIn-isli  ad  onuics  FIDELES 
pertinety  sicut  ad  sua  nieiitbra'\     But  the  idea  of 


nKVKI.or.MKNT   OK    TXX  TKINi:    (>K   SIN,  KTC.        I'u 


ThnniiiH 
Wiivtrf'l 


fiuii  Arhi- 

tnirv  Act 

uf  Utxl. 


fiiitli  is  instantly  ri'placcd  hy  tliat  of  lovi  :  "  liilrs^ 
ppv  <in<tin  (I  ix'crdfo  iiinii<ln)uiii\  ii<tn  est  Jidrs  in- 
/orm/.s,  qtKir  pvtttv.st  v.ssr  itiani  cuiii  pvvrttfo^  svd 
esf  Jidi'sfornHtfd  per  cttrihth'in".  Thomas  wavered 
botwooii  tlio  liypotlietical  and  tho  necessary,  between  ,,i,j.vtiv.- 
tlie()bjo('tiv(>  (i»()ssil)le)  and  sul)je('tivo  (real),  between  j,vt'iN.''"i{r. 

ilflllplloU. 

tho  rational  and  irrational  re<lenij)tioii.  Duns  drew 
thcconsoiinenees  (jf  tho  satisfaction  theory  in  tracing 
ovorything  back  to  the  arbitrary  "  ((cccpfdl la"  of  (i(kI. 
Tho  arbitrary  estimation  of  tho  lieceiver  gives  tho 
value  to  tho  satisfaction,  as  it  also  alone  determines 
tho  extent  of  th(^  ofTenc(».     TluMleath  of  (Mu'ist  was  Duns  Mudo 

Iti'di'iiij)- 

of  as  much  value  as  God  allowed  it  to  ])e;  at  any 
rate  tho  idea  of  "  inlinitc^"  is  to  be  rejuidiated;  for 
neither  the  sin  nor  tho  death  of  a  ilnite  man  can  havo 
infinite  weight;  besides  an  infinite  merit  is  wholly 
unnecessary,  since  the  sovereign  will  of  (jlod  decrees 
what  is  good  and  meritorious  in  his  sight.  There- 
fore ^purnn  lioino  would  also  have  been  able  to  re- 
deem us;  for  there  was  needinl  oidy  a  first  impulse, 
tho  rest  in  any  event  the  self-suflicient  man  must 
accomplish.  Duns  indeed  endeavored  to  show  also 
that  tho  death  of  Christ  was  "appropriate";  but 
this  point  was  no  longer  of  real  importance:  Christ 
died,  because  God  so  willed  it.  Everything  "neces- 
sary" and  "infinite",  which  is  here  only  an  expres- 
sion for  the  Divine,  was  cleared  away.  Tlu^  j)redes- 
tinating  arbitrariness  of  G(^d  and  justification  by 
works  ruled  dogmatics.  Duns  in  truth  had  already 
destroyed  the  doctrine  of  redemption  and  annulled 


Jiistifloa- 
liuri  by 
Works. 


•:  i 


;    I 


■  '1 


( 


SJFi! 


mM » 


Fclth  and 
Theolopy 
Lived  m 
the   Sacra- 
ments. 


S-4r- 


408       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP  DOGMA. 

the  Divinity  of  Christ.  Only  tho  authority  of  the 
Church  kept  up  its  validity ;  should  tho  former  fail, 
Socinianism  would  bo  established.  Acknowledging 
this  authority  noniinalistic  theologians  advanced  in 
their  dialectics  to  the  frivolous  and  blasphemous. 
However,  in  the  ir)tli  century  there  reappeared  in 
cc  inaction  with  Augustinianism.  a  more  serious  con- 
ception in  Gerson,  Wcssel,  even  in  Biel  and  others, 
and  the  Bernardino  view  of  the  suffering  Christ  was 
never  lost  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

B.     The   Scholastic   Doctrine   of   the   Sacra- 
ments. 

Hahn,  L.  v.  d.  Sacramenten,  1864, 

The  scholastic  uncertainties  and  liberties  touching 
the  doctrine  of  the  work  of  Christ  are  explained  by 
the  certainty  with  which  scholasticism  regarded  tho 
benefit  of  salvation  in  the  sacraments  as  a  present  one. 
Faith  and  theology  lived  in  the  sacraments.  Tho 
Augustinian  doctrine  was  bore  developed  materially 
and  formally ;  the  "  verbnm''  however  was  evermore 
disregarded  in  favor  of  the  "  sacramentum" ',  for 
since  by  the  side  of  the  awakening  of  faith  and  love 
as  means  of  grace  the  old  definition  still  retained 
its  value :  "  gratia  nihil  est  aliud  quam  participata 
similitudo  divinae  NATURAE",  no  other  form 
of  grace  could  really  bo  thought  of  than  the  magic- 
sacramental  form. 

The  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  was  for  a  long  time 


DEVELOPMENT   OP  DOCTRINE  OP  SIN,  ETC.      469 

developed  inider  the  embarrassment,  that  there  was  ^"jJ^J.ra-*'' 
nothing  settled  regarding  the  number  of  the  sacra-  ™wriain.'' 
ments.  Besides  baptism  and  the  eucharist  there  were 
an  indefinite  number  of  holy  acts  (compare  oven  Ber- 
nard). Abelard  and  Hugo  St.  Victor  laid  stress  upon 
confirmation,  extreme  unction  and  marriage  (five  in 
number),  Robert  Pullus  upon  confirmation,  con- 
fession and  ordination.  Out  of  a  combination  per- 
haps in  the  contest  with  the  catharists  originated 
the  number  seven  (Roland's  book  of  tenets),  which 
the  Lombard  brought  forward  as  an  "opinion". 
Even  at  the  councils  of  1179  and  1215  the  number 
was  not  settled.  The  great  scholastics  first  brought 
the  same  to  honorable  recognition  and  at  Florence,   council  of 

°  '      Florence, 

1439,  there  took  place  a  decided  ecclesiastical  decla-  dS  ^n 
ration  (Eugene  IV.,  hull  ex ultate  deo).  However, 
a  full  equalizing  of  the  seven  sacraments  was  not 
intended  (baptism  and  especially  the  eucharist  re- 
mained prominent).  The  "  conveniens  "  of  the  num- 
ber seven  and  the  organism  of  the  sacraments,  en- 
riching the  whole  life  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
Church,  were  explained  in  detail.  Indeed  the  very 
creation  of  these  seven  sacraments  was  a  master- 
piece of  a  perhaps  unconscious  politics. 

Hugo  began  the  teciniical  treatment  of  the  doc- 
trine, retaining  the  Augustinian  distinction  between 
sacramentum  and  7'es  sacramenti  and  the  strong 
emphasis  upon  the  physico-spiritual  gift,  which  really 
is  included.  Following  him,  the  Lombard  (IV.  1. 
B.)  defined:  " Saaximentiini  proprie  dicitur,  quod 


Hugo  and 
Peter. 


I 
Hi 


If    f'    t 


i    f.. 


:!ii 


li 


: 


470       OUTTJNES   OF  THE   HISTORY    OF  DOGMA. 


ii   !• 


I^Ji 


it<i  .si(/ii/iiu  csf  (jrafidc  dci  vt  invisihilis  gratiae 
foniKf,  ill  i luiKjiuciii  ipsius  gerat  et  causa  existat. 
Nou  ergo  signijiaindl  tantnni  gratia  sacramenta 
instifuta  snnf,  scd  ctiaiu  saudijicandi'^  {msigniji- 
candi  gratia  the  Old  Testament  ordinances  were  hit 
upon).  Still  he  did  not  say  that  the  sacraments  con- 
tain the  grace  (Hugo),  but  that  they  make  it  efficient; 
he  also  demanded  only  a  signuiii  as  a  foundation,  not 
Thomas,  like  Hugo  a  corporate  clement um.  Thomas  also 
moderated  the  'U'oul incut  ^'  oi  Hugo,  he  even  went 
further :  God  indeed  does  not  work  "  adhibit  is  sac- 
rament is^^  (Bernard),  tliej'  confer  grace  only  "per 
aliquem  modum'".  God  himself  confers  it;  the 
sacraments  are  causae  instrumentales^  they  trans- 
mit the  effect  a  prima  morente.  They  are  also 
causa  et  signet;  thus  the  phrase  "  efficiunt  quod  figu- 
rant "  must  be  understood.  Still  there  is  contained 
in  the  sacraments  a  virtus  ad  inducendum  scicra- 
mentcdem  ejfectum..  Later  on  the  relation  between 
the  sacraments  and  grace  was  entirely  relaxed. 
The  latter  only  accompanies  the  former,  for  the  mere 
arbitrariness  of  God  combined  them  (Duns)  by  vir- 
tue of  a  ^^ pactum  cum  ecclesia  initum'\  Thus  the 
Nominaiis-  nouiinalistic  conception  appears  less  magical  and  it 
Pre^  m-"s  P^'^P'^ired  the  way  by  its  protest  against  the  "  conti- 
zwingfrs.  uenV  for  the  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  forerunners 
of  the  Reformation  and  of  Zwingli.  But  this  change 
did  not  originate  in  the  interest  of  the  "  word"  and 
faith,  but,  as  remarked,  in  the  peculiar  conception  of 
God.     The  official  doctrine  remained  as  in  Thomas, 


m' 


n-' 


'll 


Kacra- 
uionts. 


DEVELOPMENT   OV    DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,   I:T('.       471 

i.(\  returned  to  the  '\fh/ifran(,  voidiucut  cf  confer- 
unV  (FlorentiiK^  council).  It  thereby  holds  {^ood  that 
the  sacranienis,  ditlering  from  those  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  which  faith  {opn.s  oprrdudi)  was  necessary, 
work  "  c.r  opere  opeyatd'  (thus  already  the  Lom- 
bard) ;  that  is,  the  effect  flows  from  the  administra- 
tion as  such.  The  attempt  of  the  Scotists  to  place 
the  sacraments  of  the  ( )ld  Testament  on  an  equality 
with  those  of  the  New  was  repudiated. 

In  detail,  the  following  points  of  the  Thomistic  jS^Hm^of 
doctrine  are  still  especiall}-  important:  (1)  In  cjenere 
the  sacraments  are  altogether  necessary  to  salvation, 
in  specie  this  is  in  the  strictest  sense  valid  only  of 
baptism  (otherwise  the  rule  holds  good;  '^  non  de- 
fectiis sed  contempt nn  danuidt'").  (•*)  hi  genere  the 
sacraments  must  hrive  a  three-fold  elfect,  a  signifi- 
cant {sacrament lun),  a  preparative  (sacramentuni 
et  res),  and  a  redemptive  {res  sctcramenti) ;  in  specie, 
howev^er,  the  preparative  effect,  the  character,  can  be 
proved  only  in  baptism,  confirmation  and  the  ordo. 
Through  these  the  "character  of  Christ",  as  capacity 
for  the  receptio  et  fraditio  cnltus  dei,  is  implanted 
in  the  potency  of  the  soul  indelebiliter,  and  is  there- 
fore not  capable  of  repetition  (stamping  it,  as  it 
were) ;  (:>)  In  the  definite  discussion  of  the  question,  Form  Must 
^^ quid  sit  sacranientunr ,  it  was  determined  that  oiJ^rved 
the  same  is  not  only  a  holy  but  also  a  sanctifying 
sign;  moreover  that  the  cause  of  sanctification  is 
the  suffering  of  Christ,  the  form  consisting  in  the 
communicated  grace  and  virtues,  and  the  aim  being 


Thro(»-fol(l 
Effect. 


V 


,      :ti 


h      1:. 

;.     1,1 


1       ! 


i  \ 


472      OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP  DOGMA. 


« 


jll^lil 


I'  'Vi 


Necessity 
of  Sacra- 
ments 
Proven. 


Duplica- 
tion  of 
Salvation. 


u 


. 


eternal  life.  The  Sixci-ament  must  always  be  a  res 
sensibilis  a  deo  determinata  (material  of  the  sacra- 
ment), and  it  is  "very  becoming",  that  "words"  also 
go  with  it,  ^^  quibus  verba  incarnato  quodammodo 
confonnantt(r'\  These  verba  a  deo  determinata 
(form  of  sacrament)  must  be  strictly  observed,  an 
unintentional  lapsus  linguae  even  does  not  allow  the 
sacrament  to  become  perfect ;  of  course  it  is  rendered 
void  as  soon  as  one  does  not  intend  to  do  what  the 
Church  does;  (4)  The  necessity  of  the  sacraments 
is  proved  by  "  quodammodo  applicant  passionem 
Christi  hominibus",  in  so  far  as  they  "  co7igrua 
gratiae  praesentialiter  demonstrandae  sunt  ";  (5) 
By  the  effect  (character  and  gratia)  it  is  argued  that 
in  the  sacrament  to  the  general  gratia  virtutem  et 
donoriim  is  still  added  "  quoddam  divinum  auxilium 
ad  consequendum  sacramenti  finem" ;  that  as  well 
in  verbis  as  in  rebus  there  is  contained  an  instru- 
mentalis  virtus  ad  inducemdam  gratiam.  By  de- 
termining the  relationship  between  sacramental  grace 
and  the  passio  Christi  it  is  plainly  discernible  that 
the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  is  nothing 
else  than  a  doubling  of  the  salvation  through  Christ. 
Since  they  conceived  grace  physically,  yet  were  un- 
able to  join  this  physical  grace  directly  to  the  death 
of  Christ,  i.e.  deduce  it  from  the  latter,  another  in- 
strumentum  separatum  (the  sacraments),  in  addition 
to  the  instrumentum  conjunctum  (Jesus),  had  still 
to  be  ascribed  to  God  the  Redeemer.  But  if  one  can 
obtain  such  an  understanding  of  the  life  and  death 


Oml  th(> 

Author,  the 

I'rifst   th« 

Instru- 

iiient. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE  OF   SIN,  ETC.      473 

of  Christ,  that  it  of  itself  Jippears  as  grace  and  sac- 
rament, then  the  doubling  is  useless  and  harmful ;  (0) 
By  determining  the  causa  sacramentorum  it  follows 
that  God  is  the  Author,  but  the  priest,  as  minister, 
the  "causa  instrument alis'\  Everything  which  is 
de  necessitate  sacrament l  (therefore  not  the  prayers 
of  the  priests,  etc.)  must  have  been  instituted  hy 
Christ  himself  (appeal  to  tradition,  while  Hugo  and 
the  Lombard  still  deduced  some  sacraments  from  the 
apostles ;  with  some  this  latter  continued  until  the  IGth 
century;  the  apostles  cannot  have  been  institutores 
sacramenti  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word ;  even  to 
Christ  as  man  was  due  only  the potestas  ministerii 
principalis  sen  excelentiae;  he  works  meritorie  et 
efficienter  and  could  have  transferred  this  extraordi- 
nary potestas  ministerii^  which  however  he  did 
not  do) ;  bad  priests  also  can  validly  administer  the 
sacraments ;  they  need  to  have  the  intentio  only,  not 
the  fides;  but  they  incur  a  mortal  sin .  Even  heretics 
can  transmit  the  sacramentum^  but  not  the  res  sac- 
ramenti. 

These  doctrines  of  Thomas  are  lacking  in  duo  re- 
gard for  faith  and  pass  lightly  over  the  question  re-  phasized 
garding  the  conditions  of  the  salutary  reception. 
With  the  nominalists  this  question,  together  with  that 
of  the  relation  of  grace  and  sacrament  (see  above)  and 
that  of  the  minister,  became  most  important  in  the 
case  of  each  separate  sacrament,  and  they  came  to  the 
decision  to  alloiv  the  factor  of  merit  to  encroach  up- 
on that  of  the  sacraments  and  of  grace,  at  the  same 


Opus  Oper- 
atum  Em- 


(:      I 


' 'I 


"£     I 


'i    ii 


t 


H 

I 


II 


1     It 


-S    F 


I. 


m 


.!!        ' 


474       orTl.INES   OF   the    niSTOIlY    OF    IXXJMA. 


Question    of  tliG  sjicninients 


time,  hovvover,  tlioy  coiici'ivj'd  of  the  conditions  of  the 
merit  in  a  looser  way  and  emphasized  more  strongly 
the  oi)iis  ()}u'V(ifiint.  On  t lie  whole  they  dissolved 
the  whole  of  Thoniism.  They  desired  here  also  to 
apprehend  the  doctrine  more  spiritually  and  ethically ; 
in  truth  they  fell  into  a  disgraceful  casuistry  and 
favored  justification  by  works  and  likewise  the  magic 

That  some  disposition  was  nec- 
'*tioa'  ossary  to  a  saint  urn  reception  all  assumed,  but  the 
question  was  wherein  it  consisted  and  what  value 
it  sliould  have.  Some  saw  in  it  no  positive  condi- 
tioning of  sacramental  grace,  but  merely  a  conditio 
sine  qua  iiou ;  they  did  not  think  of  it  as  worthiness 
and,  therefore,  declared  roundly  that  the  sacraments 
were  effective  only  ex  opere  ope  rat  o  (the  disposition 
is  necessary,  but  has  no  causal  importance).  Others 
— they  were  not  numerous — declared  that  the  sacra- 
ments can  pre  jure  grace  only  when  inward  repent- 
ance and  faith  exist;  these,  however,  are  caused 
by  God  as  inteviores  niotus,  so  that  no  justification 
ex  opere  operant e  qiiw  be  assumed;  the  sacraments 
only  announce  the  inward  work  of  God  (preparing 
the  way  for  the  Reformation  point  of  view).  Others 
still,  who  gained  the  upper  hand,  taught  that  re- 
demptive grace  is  a  product  of  the  sacraments  and  of 
penitent  faith,  so  that  the  sacrament  itself  only  ele- 
vates above  the  death-j)oint,  in  order  to  co-operate  at 
once  with  the  inner  disposition.  Here  the  question 
first  became  important,  what  then  the  disposition 
sliould  bo  (repentance  and  faith),  in  order  to  allow 


Duns' 
Vitiat«Hl 
Concep- 
tion. 


DEVKT-OPMEXT   OF   DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  KTC.      475 

the  sacrament  to  have  its  full  ciVect.  First  oC  all  ^;ll'^'y-,.,y 
they  answered  witli  Augustine,  that  the  roceive-r  Konl^rd. 
must  not  ^^obiccni  coniraride  axj  it  (it  ion  is  ttppo- 
nere^\  Therefrom  the  older  theologians  had  inferred 
that  a  1)0)1  us  ntotns  /y/^^/'/o/' must  exist ;  indeed  they 
also  conceived  this  already  as  a  merit;  for  a  niiiti- 
niniu  of  merit  (against  Augustine)  certainly  always 
must  exist,  if  grace  is  to  he  imparted.  Duns  and 
his  pupils  however  taught — ^a  vicious  corruption  of  a 
correct  idea — that  tlie  glory  of  the  New  Testament 
sacraments  consists  in  not  recjuiring,  like  the  eai'lier, 
a  bonus  mot  us  as  a  pre-supposition,  hut  rather  v»nly 
the  absence  of  a  nujtus  coutrarius  niaius  (contempt 
of  the  sacraments,  positive  unbelief).  "Without  the 
sacraments  grace  can  be  effective  onl}-^  where  there- 
exists  some  worthiness ;  sacramental  grace,  however, 
is  also  effective  wdiere  there  is  tabula  rasa  (as  if 
such  a  thing  exists!);  yonder  is  a  meritum  de  con- 
gruo  requisite,  here  "sotum  requiritur  oj^us  exte- 
riiis  cum  amotions  iuterioris  impeclimenti'\  But 
where  this  appears  mere  obedient  submission  to  the 
consummation  of  the  sacrament  becomes  for  the  re- 
ceiver a  meritum  de  congruo,  and  therewith  the 
process  of  salvation  begins,  which,  while  the  sacra- 
mental collations  increase,  can  finally  be  finished 
without  the  subjects  ever  overstepping  the  limits  of 
the  meritum  de  congruo,  that  is,  of  a  certain  merit 
which  may  exist  without  ?'e«/  inner  faith  and  love. 
Sacramental  grace  transforms  ex  opere  operato  the 
attritio    into    contritio    and   thereby   furnishes  a 


Meritum 
Congruo. 


I 


(      1 


\ 


ii 


5,'    i 


1  ■ 


'^  I  i 

!  .1  I 


Si 


,'T       V\    .1 


I  J; 


111;  * 


470        OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


I  ft 


.^' 


Baptism. 


Hiipplotnciit  to  tlio  incoinploto  merits,  romlering  thorn 
complctu.  Upon  tho  stops  of  inner  emotions,  which 
are  constantly  supplomented  bj'  the  sacraments  and 
are  wholly  vain,  oven  irreligious  (fear  of  punish- 
ment, drofid  of  hell,  powerless  dissatisfaction  with 
one's  self),  the  soul  rises  to  Clod:  "attritio  supcr- 
veniente  sacriDticnio  virtute  vlaviiim  efficitur  suf- 
ficieiis".  Hero  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  is 
subordinated  to  the  worst  form  of  a  Pelagian  doc- 
trine of  justification  (see  below). 

The  Separate  Sacrainenta.  1.  Baptism  (mate- 
rial: Water;  form:  Institutional  words).  This  has 
reference  to  hereditary  sin.  Baptism  blots  out  such 
guili  md  that  of  all  hitherto  committed  sins,  remits 
the  punishment  (not  however  earthly  punishments) 
and  regulates  the  concupiscence;  that  is,  the  idea 
of  an  innocent  concupiscence  is  allowed  (not  a  re- 
ligious view)  and  it  is  declared  that  baptism  ren- 
ders a  man  able  to  keep  his  concupiscence  within 
bounds.  The  positive  effect  of  baptism  was  placed 
under  the  head  of  ^'  regeneratio"  without  ridding 
this  conception  of  the  obscurity  and  lack  of  meaning 
which  it  has  in  the  Church  fathers.  In  theory  it 
■was  asserted  that  the  positive  grace  of  baptism  was 
perfectissima,  and  children  also  received  it  (sacra- 
ment of  justification  in  the  full  sense) ;  but  in  fact 
it  was  only  conceived  as  a  sacrament  of  initiation, 
and  only  in  this  sense  could  the  perfectness  of  infant 
baptism  (belief  of  the  Church,  or  of  good  parents  as 
substitutes)  be  sustained:   Baptism  establishes  the 


I. 

ig  tliom 
vvliich 
nts  and 
pimiHli- 
n  with 
s}(  per- 
il r  suf- 
ents  is 
an  doc- 

(mate- 
his  has 
lit  such 

remits 
ments) 
le  idea 
t  a  re- 
m  ren- 
within 
placed 
idding 
eaning 
Bory  it 
m  was 
[sacra- 
in  fact 
iation, 
infant 
snts  as 
3s  the 


Conflrma- 
tiuD. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF    !)()( TKINR   OK   SIN,  ITC.       »7T 

process  of  justification  only  /;/  hahitu,  not  in  actu. 
In  case  of  necessity  a  deacon  also,  yes  a  layman, 
may  baptize.  Detailed  explanations  concerning  sac- 
ramental observances  were  made  based  upon  a  com- 
parison witli  baptism. 

2.  Confirmation  (material:  The  clirisma  conse- 
crated by  the  bishop;  form:  Consiffno  to,  etc.).  The 
effect  of  this  sacrament,  which  like  baptism  cannot 
be  repeated,  was  to  give  power  for  growth,  strength 
to  fight,  the  gratia  gratum  faciens  in  the  process  of 
justification.  Only  the  bishop  could  administer  it; 
it  gained  its  significance  as  a  sacrament  of  the  epis- 
copal liierarchu  alongside  of  the  onlo;  still  on  the 
whole  its  significance  resided  only  in  the  "  character". 
Doubts  regarding  the  sacrament  never  died  out  in  the 
Middle  Ages  (Wiclif)'.  Beginning  with  Thomas  it 
was  brought  very  close  to  the  powder  of  the  pope,  since 
it  had  special  reference  to  the  mystical  body  of  Christ 
(the  Church ;  not  to  the  sacramental  body)  and  ac 
cordingly  the  power  of  jurisdiction  came  into  consid- 
eration. 

3.  Eucharist  (mB,iQV\9X:  The  elements ;  form :  The  Eucharist 
institutional  words).      The   Thomist  doctrine  hero 
gained  a  complete  victory  as  against  the  attempt  of 

the  nominalist  to  shake  the  doctrine  of  transubstan- 
tiation;  but  the  "heretical"  opposition  to  this  doc- 
trine did  not  cease  in  the  Middle  Ages  after  the 
Lateran  council  (vid.  p.  42G).  Realism  is  the  presup- 
position of  the  orthodox  theory ;  without  this  it  col- 
lapses.    Everything  that  is  sublime  was  said  about 


I 


H 


> 


'I 

1 


f 


^: 


i  1 1 


iii 


n 


H 


i' ' 


478       OUTLINKH   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF  DOGMA. 


i.ii    h'i   ii 


Tliomas' 
Doctrine. 


Duns. 
Occam. 


tho  oucliarist;  but  faitli,  which  sooks  surety,  went 
empty-handed,  and  yet  tho  saeranient  of  penanco  as 
sacrament  and  as  Hacrifico  was  fhially  far  superior 
to  tho  oucliarist:  Masses  are  trifling  means,  and  tho 
sjnritual  food  blots  out  no  mortal  sins.  The  great 
theological  problem  was  transubstantiation  itself,  and 
by  reason  of  its  greatness  they  ovei-looked  the  insig- 
nificance of  its  efl'ect.  Thomas  gave  form  to  the  doc- 
trine regarding  the  mode  of  tho  presence  of  the  body 
of  Christ  in  the  sacrament  (no  now  creation,  no  (is- 
ftinnpfio  eleniPnfonnn  so  that  they  become  body,  no 
consubstantiality) ;  the  sul)stanco  of  the  elements 
disappears  entirely,  but  not  j)cv  annihikitionem^ 
yei  per  convert io}i('m;  the  existence  of  tho  remain- 
ing unsubstantial  accidents  of  the  elements  is  made 
possible  by  the  direct  working  of  God;  tho  body  of 
Christ  enters  lofiiH  in  fofo;  in  each  of  tho  elements 
is  tho  whole  Christ,  to  wit:  per  coiiconiitantiam  as 
regard  his  body  and  soul  as  well  as  regards  his  Di- 
vinity from  the  moment  of  pronouncing  the  insti- 
tutional words  (therefore  also  e.vira  nsuni) ;  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ  in  the  elements  has  no  dimensions, 
but  how  this  was  to  bo  conceived  became  a  primary 
problem  for  which  Thomas  and  tho  nominalistic 
writers  summoned  absurd  and  ingenious  theories 
of  space.  They  therol)y  approached  very  closely 
either  to  the  idea  of  the  annihilation  of  the  primary 
substance  (Duns),  or  to  consid)stautiality  and  "  im- 
panation "  (Occam) ;  they  hit  upon  the  latter  be- 
cause their  metaphysics  in   general  only  admitted 


(|iifnct'H  of 
P'ormiila- 

tiiiii  of 
Uxciriur. 


DKVELOPMKNT  OF  POCTHINK  OF  SIN,  ETC.   470 

the  idea  tliat  tin*  Divine  and  tlu*  created  (icctnniKint/ 
each  other  by  virtue  of  Divine  adjustmeiit  (siinilarly 
Wesol,  and  with  other  motives  Luther).  The  con- 
Boquonces  of  the  formuhition  of  the  doctrin(>  of  tr.ii- 
Huhstantiation  were,  (1)  Cessation  of  iidant  connnu!i- 
ion  (this  had  also  other  causes),  (-2)  Increasi'  of  the 
authority  of  the  priests,  {'>))  Witli(h'awal  of  the  chali(  o 
(determined  upon  at  Constance),  (I )  Adoration  of  the 
elevated  host  (feast  of  Corpus  ('liri.s/i,  l-iCl,  1:511). 
Against  the  last  two  results  there  arose  in  the  1 4th  and 
15tli  centuries  considerable  opposition. — In  ^e<^'u•d  to  u«'p«'tition 

^  *  "  of   Sacri- 

tho  representation  of  the  eucharist  as  a  sacrifice,  tl;e  "^■•'• 
Lombard  was  still  influ(^nced  by  the  old  ecclesiastical 
motive  of  iha  recorddtio;  however,  the  idea  of  the 
repetition  of  the  sacrificial  death  of  C*hrist,  contirmi  d 
by  Gregory'  L,  crept  in  more  and  more  (Hugo,  Al- 
bertus;  Thomas  really  justifies  the  theory  only  by 
the  practice  of  the  Church)  and  modified  also  the 
canon  of  the  mass  (Lateran  council,  r215).  The 
priest  was  considered  the  saccrdos  corporis  ( 'hrisii. 
The  attacks  of  VViclif  and  others  upon  this  entirely 
unbiblical  conception  died  away;  during  t.ie  14(li 
and  15th  centuries  one  really  fought  only  against  the 
abuses. 

4.  Penance  (great  controversy  over  the  material.  Penance, 
since  no  res  corpornlis  exists)  is  on  the  whole  the 
chief  sacrament,  because  it  alone  restores  th(^  lost 
baptismal  grace.  The  theory  remained  yet  for  a  long 
time  shy  of  the  hierarchical  practice,  Avhich  had  l)een 
expressed  in   the   pseudo- A ugustinian  writing,  "c/e 


If 


!l 


4HU       OL  TLINES  OK  THE   III^TOKV    OV  DOGMA. 


it!  :;.t 


Tjaternn 
Couucli. 


Thomns' 
Doctrine. 


Halesius, 

Bonaven- 

tura. 


i 


vet'd  et  fdlsd  iHtvnHciiiiiC\  Tlic  LoinlMird  .still  con- 
sidcrod  tho  truo  poiiitenco  of  a  ChriHtiau  in  itself 
sacramental,  and  the  priestly  abaolution  merely  de- 
clarative (ficc/es?  as  ^/crt/  (tvf) ;  for  God  alone  pardons 
sin.  Hujjjo  and  the  Lat(»ran  council,  1215,  ju'epared 
the  way  for  Thomas.  The  latter  recognized  the  ma- 
terial of  th(>  sacramcMit  in  the  visible  act  of  th(i  pen- 
itent, the  form  in  the  priest's  words  of  absolution, 
declared  that  the  priests  as  aidhovizcd  ministers  are 
dispensers  in  the  fullest  sense,  and  gave  as  a  reason 
for  the  necessity  of  sacramental  i)onance  (before 
the  priest)  the  perverse  sentence:  ^^ Ex  quo  aliqnis 
peccatuiu  (mortal  sin)  nicurrif,  cdritas^  fides  et 
misericordianon  liherant  honu'neni  a  peccato  sine 
paenife)iti(r.  However,  he  added  that  the  sacra- 
mental absolution  did  not  at  once  take  away  the 
reatns  totins  jyoenae  together  with  the  guilt  of  the 
mortal  sin,  but  that  it  only  disapi)eared  "  compleiis 
omnibi(s  paenitenfiae  actihus".  The  three pa?'^e5 
paenitentiae — already  formulated  by  the  Lombard 
as  contritio  cordis,  coiifessio  oris,  satisfactio 
operis — were  originally  not  considered  of  equal  value. 
The  inner  perfect  penitence  was  considered  res  and 
sacrament iim,  and  still  dominated  with  the  Lombard 
and  Thomas  the  whole  representation.  Yet  already 
Alexander  Halesius  and  Bonaventura  were  of  the 
opinion  that  God  precisely  by  the  sacrament  had 
facilitated  the  way  to  salvation,  and  they  discrim- 
inated between  contritio  and  nttritio  (timor  ser- 
vilis) ,  declaring  the  latter  sufficient  for  admission  to 


•I" 

aiicc. 


I'dtlft'HHiO 

Oi-ih: 
Tlmtiuw. 


DEVKLOPMKNT   OK    DOCTKINK   OK  SIN,  V/TC.       tHl 

tho  sacrament,  In  sj)it()  nf  its  si  lout  reject  ion  l>y 
Thomas  tluH  view  gained  more  ami  more  ground: 
The  Hacramcnl  itst'lf  will  perfect  the  half-penitence 
by  the  in  fust  a  (iiuitinr.  The  dtfrifio,  gallows-  (iaiiowg. 
repentance,  iH'came  the  haiie  of  the  Church  (hx'triiu' 
in  the  1  Hh  and  l.'dh  centuries  (.jnhann  von  ralllz, 
Petrusde  Palude  and  others;  DieckhotT,  I)er  Ablass- 
Btreit,  ISSd) ;  the  Tridentino  council  sanctioned  it 
only  conditionally.  Tt  was  w(^ll  known  that  tlie  at- 
iritio  often  springs  from  ininioniJ  motives  and  yet 
they  built  out  of  it  and  the  sacraments  steps  up  to 
heaven. — Thomas  is  the  theologian  of  the  coiifcssin 
oris;  lie  placed  the  obligation  thereto  under  the.y'//.s 
diviitinn,  stated  for  the  first  time  exactly  the  extent 
of  the  new  ordinance  and  deduced  the  sole  right  of  tho 
ecclesiastic  to  hear  confessions  from  the  winister- 
iiun  snj)er  corj^xs  Christi  rernm  (in  case  of  need  one 
should  confess  to  a  hiyman,  such  confession,  however, 
is,  according  to  Thomas,  no  longer  sacramental). 
Tho  Scotists  essentially  accepted  all  this. — The  sole 
right  of  the  priest  to  gntiit  absolution  was  also  first  ^['[','^,1"" 
strictly  brought  to  an  issue  by  Thomas.  However, 
upon  this  sacrament  the  iwwer  of  jurisdiction  exerted 
an  influence  (reservance  of  cases  for  the  pope).  Ac- 
cording to  the  Scotists  tho  priest  by  absolution  sim- 
ply induces  God  to  fulfil  his  contract ;  according  to 
Thomas  he  acts  independently  through  the  trans- 
mitted potestas  ministevii. — By  imposing  a  sdtis- 
/rifc//(>  the  priest  acts  as  invdicus  pvritus  et  judex 

aequHs.     The  practice  is  an  old  one,  the  "  mcchaniz- 
31 


Tbumu8. 


Medicus 
reritus. 


( 


I 


482       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OP  DOGMA. 


''11^ 


J ''  •* 


mi 


'  n 


ing"  and  the  theoretical  rating  (alongside  the  con- 
tritio  as  a  part  of  the  penance)  is  comparatively 
now.  The  idea  is  that  the  satisfaction  as  a  constit- 
uent part  of  the  sacrament,  is  the  necessary  manifes- 
tation of  repentance  in  such  works  as  are  fitted  to  give 
a  certain  satisfaction  to  an  offended  God,  and  which 
become  the  motive  for  the  shortening  of  temporal 
punishment.  In  baptism  God  pardons  without  any 
satisfaction,  but  of  those  baptized  he  demands  a  cer- 
tain satisfaction,  wliich  then  as  merit  reverts  to  him 
who  renders  it.  Moreover  the  baptized  is  really 
able  to  render  it ;  it  also  contributes  to  his  reforma- 
Menton^  tion  and  protects  him  against  sin.  ]\Ieritorious  arc 
only  such  acts  as  are  done  in  a  state  of  grace  [in 
caritate^  hence  after  absolution),  but  the  works 
(prayer,  fasting,  alms)  of  those  who  are  not  ui  cari- 
tate  also  have  a  certain  merit.  Thus  finally  «f^r?7/o 
and  imperfect  meritorious  works  dominate  the  whole 
territory  of  penance,  that  is  of  ecclesiastical  life. 

But  the  scholastics  admitted  also  in  practice  the 
idea  of  the  personal  exchange  of  satisfactions  and  of 
personal  substitution.  This  led  to  the  doctrine  of 
indulgences  (Bratke,  Luther's  05  Theses,  1884. 
Schneider,  Die  Ablilsse,  7.  Aufl.,  1881).  The  indul- 
gence joins  on  to  the  satisfaction  i.e.  also  to  the 
attritio.  In  theory  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
reatus  culpae  et  poenae  aeternae;  still  in  practice 
it  was  not  seldom  joined  with  the  latter  (even  the 
Tridentine  council  here  complained  of  abuses) .  The 
indulgence  rests  upon  the  idea  of  connnutation  and 


Indnl- 
K«nccs. 


I 


i:  I 


HcH. 


Thomas' 
Effort. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.       183 

its  purpose  was  to  ameliorate,  i.e.  to  abolish  the  tem- 
poral punishment  of  sin,  above  all  the  punishment 
of  purgatory.  Through  absolution  hell  was  closed ;  ^'{^".Ijilg^"' 
but  the  Jioiiiines  ailriii  in  reality  neither  believe  in 
hell  nor  in  the  power  of  grace,  for  only  a  confritus 
knows  anything  of  such  things.  But  they  are  afraid 
of  severe  punishment,  and  they  believe  in  the  possi- 
bility of  removing  it  by  various  "  doings",  and  are 
even  ready  for  some  sacrifice  for  this  end.  Thus  pur- 
gatory was  hell  to  them  and  the  indulgence  became 
a  sacrament.  To  these  feelings  the  Church  in  real- 
ity yielded;  attritio,  opera  and  indidfjent i a  hcciuno 
in  truth  parts  of  the  sacrament  of  penance.  Thomas 
still  endeavored  throughout  to  bring  about  a  com- 
promise between  the  earnest  tlieory  and  the  evil 
practice,  which  he  was  unable  to  uproot  ("  ah  omnibus 
conceditur  indulgentias  aliqnid  valere,  quia  im- 
pinm  esset  dicere,  qnod  ecclesiae  aliquid  vane 
facereV^).  With  him  the  indulgences  had  not  yet 
become  a  mockery  of  Christianity  as  the  religion  of 
redemption,  because  ho  really  conceives  them  only  as 
an  annex  to  the  sacrament.  Yet  he  abandoned  the 
old  idea  that  the  indulgence  has  reference  only  to 
the  ecclesiastical  punishment  imposed  by  the  priest ; 
and  it  was  he  who  handed  down  the  theory  of  in- 
dulgences.  The  latter  is  composed  of  two  ideas:  (1)  '^'jj,'^,^f,_"*' 
Pardoned  sin  also  continues  to  have  an  effect  through 
its  temporal  consequences,  still  it  cannot  remain  "  in- 
ordinata  ",  and  therefore  the  temporal  punishment 
must  be  expiated ;  (2)  Christ  by  his  passion  has  ac- 


gences. 


'     h\ 


\\ 


i  ; 


'I  1 


ii 


1 


:    I    I 


Ii 


^^f  -ii 


I 


484       OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


,  'f 


\ 


Theory  of 
Surplus 
Merits. 


null  Uni- 
geuitus. 


complished  greater  things  than  the  blotting  out  of 
eternal  guilt  and  punishment ;  this  alone  is  effective 
within  the  sacrament,  i.e.  in  the  absolution;  but 
outside  of  it  there  is  a  suri)lus.  This  surplus  merit 
{thesaurus  opernm  stqjererogatoriorum)  must  of 
necessity  benefit  the  bod}'  of  Christ,  the  Church, 
since  it  cannot  benefit  Christ  and  the  saints. 

But  it  can  no  longer  find  any  t)thcr  occupation  than 
that  of  shortening  and  blotting  out  the  temporal 
punishment  of  sin.  It  can  be  turned  only  to  the 
benefit  of  those  absolved,  who  must  regularly  offer 
in  return  a  minimum  (a  small  performance) ;  it  is 
administered  by  the  head  of  the  Church,  the  pope, 
who  however  can  transfer  to  others  a  ])artial  admin- 
istration. This  theory  of  surplus  merits,  which  had 
along  prior  history  (Persians,  Jews),  became  espe- 
cially pernicious  when  no  decisive  weight  was  placed 
upon  the  condition  of  repentant  faith,  or  when  dark- 
ness was  intentionally  permitted  to  rest  upon  the 
question  as  to  what  it  reall}'  was  that  was  blotted 
out  by  the  indulgence,  or  when  the  question,  as  to 
whether  the  indulgence  would  not  also  be  of  benefit 
to  committers  of  mortal  sin  ad  reqiiirendam  giri- 
tiam,  was  answered  in  the  affirmative  as  was  like- 
wise the  question  whether  therefore  it  could  not  be 
granted  in  advance,  in  order  that  one  might  make 
use  of  it  for  an  occasional  disposition  (Scotistic  prac- 
tice). The  theorj'of  indulgences  is  comprised  in  the 
bull,  "  Unigenitns",  Clement  IV.,  of  the  year  1340; 
here  it  is  also  stated  that  the  indulgence  has  refer- 


1   liiii 


DEVELOPMENT  OP  DOCTRINE  OF  SIN,  ETC.      485 


li-    ih 


ence  only  to  the  ^^vere  pacnifmfes  ct  confess r. 
Wiciif  above  all  (lisputtnl  the  practice  and  theory; 
he  called  the  indulgences  arbitrary  and  blasphemous, 
paralyzing  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God,  a  nefa- 
rious innovation.  But  indulgence  was  not  yet  un- 
hinged, when  one  proved  it  to  be  unbiblical,  the 
usurpation  of  the  hierarchy  and  a  moral  corrup- 
tion. One  must  show  how  a  dormant  conscience  is 
to  be  awakened,  a  disturbed  one  to  be  comforted. 
But  neither  Wiciif  nor  the  other  energetic  contestors 
of  indulgences  (Huss,  Wesel,  etc.)  were  able  to  do 
this.  Wessel  alone  attacked  indulgences  at  the  root, 
for  he  not  only  taught  that  the  keys  were  given  alone 
to  the  pious  (not  to  the  pope  and  the  priests),  and 
also  pointed  out  that  forgiveness  does  not  depend  up- 
on arbitrariness,  but  upon  true  penitence ;  moreover, 
that  the  temporal  punishments  for  sin  serve  for 
man's  education  and  therefore  cannot  be  exchanged. 
He  also  doubted  the  satisf actio  operum:  Satisfac- 
tio  has  no  place  anyhow  where  God  has  infused 
his  love;  it  would  detract  from  the  work  of  Christ 
(the  gratia  gratis  data).  And  yet  indulgences, 
which  had  also  been  approved  at  Constance,  pre- 
vailed about  loOO  more  than  ever;  people  knew  them 
to  be  "' abusus  quaestorum'*\  and  yet  made  use  of 
them. 

5.  Extreme  unction  (material:  Consecrated  oil; 
form:  A  deprecatory  word  of  prayer).  Thomas  as- 
serted its  institution  by  Christ,  its  promulgation  by 
James  (Epist.  5 :  U).    The  purpose  of  this  sacrament, 


't\ 


Wiciif. 

IIuss, 

Wessel. 


Extreme 
Unction. 


I 


ii 


m 


KM 


f  Ji 


I 


n 


M 


!.. 


Ordination 
of  Priests. 


Thomas' 
Doctrine. 


Ill 


480       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

which  admits  of  ropctitioii,  is  tho  remi.ssio  pecca- 
torum,  yet  011I3'  of  tho  venial.  As  this  sacrament 
was  evolved  only  hecause  of  the  need  of  the  dying, 
it  was  also  left  to  practice.  Theory  had  little  in- 
terest in  it. 

0.  Ordination  of  priests  (from  the  impossibil- 
ity of  proving  a  perceptible  material  by  the  side 
of  the  form  :  "  Accij^fe  j^otestateni,  Qtc.''\ — however, 
one  also  thought  of  vessels  of  worship  or  of  the  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  and  symbols, — Tiiomas  Iniew  how  to 
make  capital:  ^' Hoc  quod  confertiir  in  cdiis  sacra- 
meniis  derivatur  tanfmn  (i  deo,  non  a  ministro, 
qui  sacranientuni  dispensat^  sed  illud  quod  in  hoc 
Sacramento  traditur,  scil.  spiritualis  potestas, 
derivatur  etiani  ah  eo,  qni  sacrament  inn  dat,  siciit 
potestas  imperfecta  a  perfectaj  et  ideo  efficacia 
aliornm  sacramentorum  principcditer  consist  it 
in  materia,  quae  virtutem  divinani  et  significat 
et  continet.  .  ,  .  ,  sed  efficacia  hiijus  sacramenti 
principcditer  residet  penes  eum,  qui  sacramentum 
disponsat").  The  bishop  alone  is  the  dispenser. 
Points  in    Controversies  arose,  (1 )  Regardini?  the  seven  ordina- 

Contro-  '   \    /  o  » 

versy.  tions  and  their  relation  to  each  other,  (2)  Regarding 
the  relationship  between  the  priest's  and  the  bishop's 
ordination,  (3)  Regarding  the  validity  of  ordina- 
tions conferred  by  schismatical  or  heretical  bishops 
(question  of  reordination ;  the  Lombard  was  in  favor 
of  the  stri(^ter  practice,  which  however  jeopardized 
Character.  *^®  entire  existence  of  the  priesthood).  Character 
was  really  the  chief  effect  of  this  sacrament.     The 


:  in 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  DOCTRINE   OF   SIN,  ETC.      487 

cpiscupato  conld,  on  account  of  tlio  olil  tnulitii)ii,  no 
longer  bo  counted  as  a  special  ordo;  but  there  was 
an  endeavor  to  vindicate  its  higher  position  as  being 
especially  instituted  by  Christ  (on  the  ground  of 
jurisdictional  power) ;  Duns,  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  real  circumstances,  desired  to  acknowledge 
a  separate  sacrament  in  the  consecration  of  a  bii^hop. 

7.  Matrimonu  (material  and  form:  The  consent  of 
those  about  to  be  married).  As  with  the  former 
sacrament,  so  also  witli  this,  every  provable  redemp- 
tive effect  was  wanting ;  but  it  was  here  still  more 
difficult  to  carry  out  at  all  the  general  doctrine  of 
the  sacraments.  The  treating  of  marriage  as  a  sac- 
rament was  already  with  Thomjis  a  chain  of  difficul- 
ties; in  reality  ecclesiastical  law  was  alone  concerned 
with  it.  There  were  painful  deductions  concerning 
the  import  of  the  copula  carnuUs  for  the  sacrament; 
the  priestly  benediction  was  considered  only  "quod 
dam  sacrament ale^\ 

In  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  Thomas  was  the 
authoritative  doctor ;  his  doctrines  were  confirmed  by 
Eugene  IV. ;  but  in  so  far  as  they  were  subordinated 
to  the  doctrine  of  merits,  a  different  spirit,  the  Scotis- 
tic,  gradually  entered  into  all  dogmatics.  Thomas 
himself  even  was  obliged  to  emphasize  the  vulgar 
Catholic  elements  of  Augustinianism,  since  he  fol- 
lowed the  practice  of  the  Church  in  his  Sit m ma. 
Later  theologians  went  even  much  farther.  The 
dissolving  of  Augustinianism  into  dogmatics  did 
not  really  take  place  from  without ;  it  was  largely 


Mutri- 
inuiiy. 


Thomas' 
Doctriii*'  of 

tlie  Sticra- 
nicntsCon- 

firiiit'd  by 
EuKeue  IV. 


Augustin- 
ianisin  Dis- 
solved 
into 
Dogmatics. 


■  it 


•'I 


y 
1? 


488       OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

the  result  of  an  inward  devolopniont.  Tho  throo 
elements,  which  Augustinu  porniittcd  to  stand  in  and 
by  the  side  of  his  doctrine  of  grace,  nin'if,  the  (jratia 
infusa  and  the  h ierarcJi iced  priest li/  element,  con- 
tinued to  work  until  they  had  completely  trans- 
formed the  Augustinian  mode  of  thought. 


C.     The  Revising    of    Augcstinianism  in  the 
Direction  of  the  Doctrine  of  Merits. 


,  \ 


I 


Lombard 
llepeats 
Augus- 
tine's 

Teaching. 


Anselm, 
Bernard, 
Abelard. 


Religious 
View   Sup- 
planted by 
Empirical. 


No  ecclesiastical  theologian  had  directly  denied 
that  grace  is  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  religion, 
but  since  the  idea,  "  grace",  is  in  itself  ambiguous — 
God  himself  in  Christ,  a  mysterious  quality,  love  ( ?) 
— it  could  also  be  made  subservient  to  different 
views.  The  Lombard,  in  regard  to  grace,  predestina- 
tion and  justification,  exactly  repeated  the  Augus- 
tinian sentences,  but  concerning  free-will  he  ex- 
pressed himself  no  longer  in  an  Augustinian,  but  in 
a  semi-Pelagian  fashion,  because  he  also  had  merit 
in  mind.  With  Anselm,  Bernard  and  above  all 
Abelard  a  contradiction  between  the  doctrine  of 
grace  and  of  freedom  can  be  verified,  since  all  were 
governed  by  the  thought  which  the  Lombard  formu- 
lated thus:  ^^  nullum  wer  it  urn  est  in  homine,  quod 
non  fit  per  liberuni  arhitriiim'\  Therefore  the 
ratio  and  the  power  of  the  will  for  good  must  have 
remained  unto  man  after  the  fall.  The  religious 
view  of  Augustine  is  replaced  by  the  empirical,  and 
even  Bernard  failed  to  mark  Augustine's  discrimi- 


n 


!fl 


Habitual 
Virtue. 


DRVELOPMKNT   OF   DOCTRINK   OK   SIN,  KTO.       4)^!> 

nation  between  formal  and  material  freedom.  Nota- 
ble is  the  attempt  of  the  Lombard  to  identify  saneti- 
fying  grace  with  the  Holy  S})irit.  However,  this 
had  no  consecjuences ;  they  did  not  want  God  him- 
self, but  Divine  attributes,  which  can  become  human 
virtues. 

From  God  to  God  through  grace  was  the  funda- 
mental thought  of  Thomas,  and  yet  finally  it  is  li((h- 
itual  virtue  at  which  he  aims.  The  fundamental 
fault  lay  alread^'in  the  Augustinian  discrimination 
between  (jvnii((  operans  and  coopcrans.  The  latter 
alone  procures  bliss,  but  it  cooperates  with  the  will 
arul  together  tliey  cause  mm' I.  Merits,  however, 
are  the  essential  point,  since  the  theologian  can  have 
no  other  conception  than  that  God  values  a  reforma- 
tion only  when  indicated  by  the  habit ms.  But  this 
is  not  the  stand])oint  of  religion ;  faith  thus  becomes    J^'^'^''  ^**- 

^  "  comes  an 

merely  an  act  of  initiation,  and  God  does  not  appear  '^*tution"" 

as  the  alnii(iht(i  Love  and  therefore  as  the  Rock  of 

Salvation,  but  as  the  Partner  and  Judge;    he  does 

not  appear  as  the  personal  Good,  which  as  Father 

is  alone  able  to  lead  the  soul  to  trust,  but  as  the 

Giver  of  material,  perhaps   very  exalted   blessings 

(communication  of  his  nature).     These  theologians, 

if  they  thought  of  God,  did  not  look  upon  the  heart 

of  the   almighty  Father,  but  upon  an  unfathomable     Theolo- 
gians Lose 

Being,  who,  having  created  the  world  out  of  noth-    pj^gon**Jf 
ing,  likewise  also  causes  superctbunchtuf  powers  of       ^°  " 
knowledge,  reformation  and  snhstaiitial  transfor- 
mation to  go  forth.    And  when  they  thought  of  them- 


)i 


I 


n 


I  i\ 


1 


I    :i 


400       orTT.INES   OF   THE    HISTORY    OF'"   DOOMA. 


♦\   ',(! 


r» 


.*! 


I    ^ 


Thomas 

Makes  Law 

and  Orace 

Basal. 


selves,  they  did  not  tliiiik  of  the  eeiitri'  of  tlie  liuiium 
ego,  the  spirit,  which  is  so  free  and  exalted  that  it 
gains  a  hold  only  npon  a  divine  Person  and  not 
upon  the  most  glorious  gifts;  they  taught:  God  (Uid 
the  ())'<di(i  instead  of  j)('rsoii(d  coin  muni  on  iriflt 
God,  who  is  the  (jndid.  In  the  heginning  indeed 
God  and  the  (jnitid  (i)ower  of  love)  lay  xcry  chjse 
together  in  their  minds,  but  in  the  carrying  out  of 
the  thought  the  (jrotia  was  more  and  more  with- 
drawn from  God,  until  one  finds  it  in  magic-working 
idols.  The  double  thought,  "  nofura  dii'ina"  and 
^'bonuni  e8se^\  was  the  ruling  one:  Physics  and 
morality,  but  not  religion. 

Thomas  made  law  and  grace,  as  the  outer  princi- 
ples of  moral  conduct,  his  basis.  The  former,  even 
as  new  law,  wah;  not  sufficient.  The  necessity  of 
grace  therefore  was  proved,  partly  by  Aristotelian 
means.  At  the  same  time  the  intellectualism  of 
Thomas  comes  out  strongly :  Grace  is  the  communi- 
cation of  supernatural  knowledge.  The  lumen  gra- 
tiae,  however,  is  also  the  lumen  superadditum,  that 
is,  it  is  not  necessarj'  for  the  accomplishing  of  the 
aim  of  man,  but  for  the  reaching  over  and  beyond 
this :    therefore  it  furnishes  the  reason  also  with   a 


Lun.en 
Oratiae 
is  also 
Lumen 


supernatural  worth,  i.e.  a  merit.  Man  in  the  state 
of  integrity  possesses  accordingly  the  capability  cf 
'^drtuin!^'  doing  by  his  own  strength  the  honuni  suae  naturae 
pi'oporfionafum,  yet  he  needs  the  Divine  aid  in 
order  to  acquire  a  meritorious  honum  super excedens. 
After  the  fall,  however,  grace  was  necessary  for  both ; 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   DOCTRINE   OF  SIN,  ETC.       101 


'K 


Ktt'rnal 

Lift'  to  bo 

I'jiriH'd. 


accordingly  a  two-fold  grace  is  now  ncodcd.  'J'horeby 
the  difference  between  (jnitia  operans  el  coopcrans 
was  already  established,  and  at  the  same  time  there 
was  taken  into  view  as  the  end  of  man  a  supernatural 
state,  which  one  may  reach  only  by  the  aid  of  the 
second  grace,  which  creates  merits.  "  17/rt  aetenui 
est  finis  excedois  proporiionein  )iattir(ic  liu- 
maiiae"f  but  with  the  help  of  grace  one  can  and 
must  earn  eternal  life.  Yet  Thomas,  as  a  strict 
Augustinian,  did  not  admit  the  idea  that  a  man  can 
prepare  himself  for  the  first  grace.  He  recognized 
grace  alone  for  the  beginning,  not  the  nicritd  de 
congrito.  The  essence  of  grace  he  depicted  in  such 
a  manner,  that,  as  a  gift,  it  produces  a  peculiar 
quality  of  the  soul,  i.e.  besides  the  auxiliuin,  by 
which  God  especially  induces  the  soul  to  good  actions, 
he  infuses  into  the  soul  a  sujiernatural  quality. 
Grace  is  to  be  distinguished,  first,  as  the  grace  of  ,9'*^'"'" 
salvation  {gratuni  faciens)  and  as  the  grace  of  the  et^cooi^^r 
priestly  office,  second,  as  oj)erans  {praeveniens)  and 
cooperans  (subsequens) ;  in  the  former  the  soul  is 
mota  non  movens;  in  the  latter  Diota  movens.  The 
source  of  grace,  which  is  deifica,  is  God  himself,  who 
also  creates  the  preparation  for  it  in  man,  in  order 
to  render  the  materia  (the  soul)  ^'  disposita".  No 
one,  however,  is  able  to  know  whether  God  is  car- 
rying on  the  supernatural  work  within  him.  This 
sentence  {"nvUus  potest  scire,  se  habere  gratiam^ 
certitudinaliter ")  and  the  superfluous  speculation 
about  the  materia  disposita  (inspired  by  Aristotle) 


iH 


uus. 


.lij 


1 


' .   1 


V     ,\\ 


\^\ 


402       orXLFNKS   OF   Till-:    IIISTOIIV    oF    |K)(!MA. 


i'iv 


;K-,| 


'd 


't'  i 


i 
,V,; 

■*:■■            J 

i 

IT?' 

f  ■ 

i        i 

KITi'cf   of 

(Jiuci'TvvK- 

K<tl(l ;  JiiH- 

tilicatioi), 

Merits. 


Confusion 

in 
Doctriuf. 


Natural 
JIan  Can 
Earn  No 
Merit,  Jus- 
tified Man 
Can. 


Itcc.'inic  fatal,  'riiiM'lVcct  of  gniC(M.s  two-fold  ;  first, 
jiistilication,  sucoiid,  inciits,  i.r.  tlic  real  justilication 
does  not  yet  take  i)lae{^  by  the  rcini.ssio  pcccatorinn, 
but  Olio  may  say  simply,  because  of  the  end  in  view, 
that  forgiveness  of  sin  is  already  ju«tification.  But 
the  (jrdfid  iii/KSd  is  necessary  for  the  forgiveness  of 
sin  and  therefore  a  inofn.s  li'herl  arhitvii  is  hero 
re(iuired.  Thus  the  (/rdtid  jtrdeveniens  in  truth 
consists  in  an  indefinablo  act,  since  every  effect  al- 
ready presupposes  c(")operation.  Looking  closer,  there 
pnwails  with  Thomas  a  great  confusion  regarding 
the  process  of  justification,  because  the  locating  of 
the  moment  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  causes  difficul- 
ties; it  ought  to  bo  in  the  beginning  and  yet  it  must 
be  placed  later  because  the  infusion  of  grace,  the 
turning  to  God  in  love  and  the  turning  from  sin, 
should  precede  it.  By  the  ''  opus  nuignum  et  niira- 
ciilosuni"  of  the  Jnstijicatio  impii  the  effects  are 
weighed,  which  through  grace  more  and  more  fall  to 
the  lot  of  the  one  already  justified.  They  all  come 
under  the  head  of  merit.  All  progress  must  be  so 
regarded  that,  in  so  far  as  it  is  the  work  of  grace,  it 
is  gained  ex  condif/no,  but,  in  so  far  as  the  free 
will  of  the  justified  is  concerned  in  it,  it  takes  place 
ex  congruo.  Therefore  the  opinion  of  Thomas  was, 
that  the  natural  man  after  the  fall  can  earn  no  merit, 
but  the  justified  man  can  do  so  ex  congruo  ("con- 
gruumesf,  uthomini  operanti  secundum  sudin  vir- 
futem  deus  recompenset  secundum  excellentiam 
suae  virtutis") ;  whereas  in  regard  to  eternal  salva- 


':ijj 

'^\'^^ 


DF-VRI.OPMENT   OK    DOCTKINK   OF   SIN,   KTC.       W)'.] 


I'crsovcr- 
fttict'  Not 

MtTittMl. 


tion  there  exists  for  man  ''  propter  nutxintam  i}i(iv- 
qualitatcfn  projx^rh'onis"'  im)  nicrituin  dc  cniKh'f/no. 
This  is  reserved  to  the  efficacy  of  grace.  The  meri- 
torious principle  is  always  love;  this  deserves  the 
anfjnicufnm  (/I'fifidr  cr  coiK/if/no.  On  the  con- 
trary perseverance  in  grace  can  in  no  sense  l»e 
merited:  " Pcrscrcrdnfia  riar  non  ((idif  snh  nicrito, 
quia  dependvt  .solum  cr  niofioiic  diri no,  (/noc  est 
lirincipiiu)!  oiinii.s  nicrifi,  scdd  ens  (jrofis  perse- 
veroulioe  ho)nnii  lor(phn\  enieiDcipie  ilhid  l(fr</i- 
tur^\  Herehy  pure  Augustinianism  was  restored, 
which  Thomas  also  admitted  unabridged  into  his 
doctrine  of  predestination,  while  not  only  the  inde- 
fatigably  repeated  definition  of  God  as  priniUDi  ino- 
vens,  but  also  the  whole  special  doctrine  of  morals 
shows  the  influence  of  Aristotle.  In  the  latter  is  car- 
ried out  the  thought  thiit  virtue,  by  the  right  ordering 
of  efforts  and  instincts,  comes  through  the  reason  and 
later  is  supernaturally  perfected  by  the  gifts  of  grace. 
Virtue  culminates  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  consilia  virtupcui- 

niinatcs  in 

evamjelica  (poverty,  chastity,  obedience).  These  ('hnsuty; 
form  tho  conclusion  of  the  doctrine  of  the  new  law ;  dieuce. 
but,  on  the  other  side,  the  doctrine  of  grace  also  cul- 
minates in  them,  so  that  they,  properly  speaking, 
form  the  apex  of  the  whole  scheme.  "  Praecepfa 
imporiant  necessitafem,  con.siliuiu  in  optione pon- 
itur  ejus,  eui  d(itnr'\  Through  "  counsels"  man  at- 
tains his  aim  "  y»r7/7^s'  ef  e.rpeih'fiiis^'  ]  for  the  pre- 
cepts still  admit  of  a  certain  inclination  to  the  goods 
of  this  world,  the  counsels  wholly  discard  the  same, 


/  ;i 


/  !<■! 


404        OUTLINES   OF   TMK    iriSTOHY    OF    IXKJMA. 


^r 


I' ! 


HO  tliat  in  following  tho  latter  tho  nhortost  way  in 
given  to  etuinal  life.  By  this  discrimination  bo- 
twoon  precvpfd   and  consilid  li^lit  is  onro    more 

^'hiu^^  thrown  npon  tlio  original  state.  Tlio  original  en- 
ruimIIvxIV-  downiont  of  man  was  in  itself  not  sulficient  to  attain 
Nuturum.  mito  tlio  t'lfa  (K'tvnKt;  tnei  latter  was  a  bonnni 
8K2>er(\V('e<h'Hs  nufnram;  but  in  tho  (fddifional  en- 
dowiuant  of  tho  Jush'tia  oriyindlis  man  possesses  a 
Bupernatiiral  gift,  which  enables  him  to  really  attain 
unto  eternal  life.  Thus  one  may  say  that  after  tho 
appearance  of  sin  {material iter  =  concupiscent iuy 
fornialitcr  =  (Icfectns  oritjinalis  Jnstitiae)  tho 
precepta  correspond  to  tho  restoring  of  the  natural 
state  of  man,  tho  consilia  to  the  doniini  superaddi- 
tuni  of  tho  Just  it  ia  oriijinalis. 

Thomas'  doctrine  of  grace  has  a  double  aspect ;  it 
looks  backward  toward  Augustine  and  forward 
toward  the  dissolution  of  the  doctrine  in  the  14  \.  cen- 
tury. Thomas  wanted  to  bo  an  Augustinian,  and 
his  explanations  wero  already  an  Augustinian  re- 
action against  the  assertions  of  Halesius,  Bona- 
ventura  and  others;  but  ho  allowed  much  wider 
play  to  the  idea  of  merit  than  did  Augustine;  ho 
removed  still  farther  than  tho  latter  the  doctrine  of 
grace  from  tho  person  of  Christ  (the  latter  is  dis- 
cussed he  fore  Christology !),  and  ho  permitted  faith 
and  tho  forgiveness  of  sin  to  recede  still  farther. 
^^Lon*er"°  Faith   is   either  fides  infornris,  therefore  not  yet 

i-aith.       fr^ith,  or  fides  formata^  therefore  no  longer  faith. 
In  fact  faith  as  fiducia  can  find  no  place,  if  the 


Tlioinas' 

Doc'trino 

Doiihlo- 

Faced. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   1)0<  TKINE  OF   SIN,  ETC.      405 

ofTocts  t)f  grac-  arc  a  new  nature  and  a  moral  rcj'nr- 
mat  ion.  In  tlio  ainbigiiuuM  sontcacc,  "'(((ritds 
meretiir  ritmu  (wternanr,  tlio  mischief  of  the  timo 
to  romo  lay  already  concealed. 

Tho  setting  aside  of  tho  Augnstinian  doctrine  of 
grace  and  sin  can  bo  followed  np  in  every  point:  (1 ) 
HalesiuH  already  taught  that  Adani  in  paradise? 
by  good  works  c.r  coiKjriio  mcM'ited  the  (jratia 
(jvatuin  favicns.  The  Scotists  followed  in  his  steps, 
at  the  same  timo  discriminating  between  tho  justi 
tia  oviginatis  and  such  grace,  and  reckoning  tho 
latter  to  tho  perfection  of  human  nature  itself.  Al- 
though this  was  an  advantage^  yet  it  was  neutrali/x'd 
by  the  fact  that  tho  merit  e,v  conffnio  had  been 
j>laccd //'o/ji  the  I)e(/iinu'ii(/  alongside  of  the  "only 
efllcacious  grace".  (•^)  Thomas  no  longer  s(|uarely 
admitted  tho  sentence  in  regard  to  hereditary  sin : 
"  Natjiralia  I)(t)ia  earvupta  suuf',  in  so  far  as  ho 
defined  tho  concupiscence,  which  in  itself  is  not  evil, 
simply  as  Idiu/uoi'  ef  foines,  emphasize(l  stronger 
than  Augustine  tho  negative  side  of  sin  and,  because 
the  ratio  remained,  assumed  a  continued  ineliuatio 
ad  bonuni.  Duns,  on  the  whol(\  separated  the  (ques- 
tion of  concupiscence  from  that  of  hereditary  sin; 
tho  former  no  Linger  appeared  to  him  the  forniale 
of  tho  latter,  but  merely  the  mater  idle.  Thus  as 
regards  hereditary  sin  there  remained  oidy  tho  pH- 
vatiooi  tho  supernsitural  good,  which  indeed  brought 
about  a  disturbance  of  tho  nature  of  man,  however 
without  any  of  the  natural  good  really  being  lost. 


Sli'|i<  it) 
l>i  >sii|iitii  I 

c'l'    \ll>.'IIS- 

liiit'',«, 

I)lK.'(litK'. 


Thoiiitus. 


I"  'I 


I    '  1 


»     i 


Duns, 


Occam. 


496       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OP  DOGMA. 

Even  the  first  sin  was  very  loosely  conceived  of  by 
Duns  (against  Augustine) :  Adam  only  indirectly 
transgressed  the  commandment  to  love  Cod  and 
the  commandment  to  love  his  neighbor,  and  only 
in  so  far  as  by  compliance  he  overstepped  the  right 
measure.  Besides  it  was  not  at  all  a  (question  of  an 
offence  against  moral  laws,  but  of  not  obeying  a  com- 
mandment imposed  for  the  sake  of  probation.  With 
Occam  everything  is  entirely  dissolved.  As  in  the 
case  of  redemption,  the  reckoning  of  the  fall  of 
man  appeared  to  him  as  an  arbitrary  act  of  God, 
which  became  known  to  us  by  "revelation".  Small 
sins  were  even  possible  in  the  original  state  (thus  al- 
ready Duns) .  The  renouncing  of  everything  ideal, 
^.e.,  the  Neo-Platonic  knowledge  of  the  world,  led 
the  nominalists  to  decompose  the  conception  of  guilt 
an«^  sin ;  here  also  they  made  tabula  rasa  and  fell 
back  upon  the  practice  of  the  Church  viewed 
as  a  rt!  relation,  because  they  were  still  blind  to 
historj  and  concrete  relations.  (3)  Duns  and  his 
Hereditary  Suc.':  issors  considered  the  guilt  of  hereditary  sin  as 

Sin. 

finl'..3.  (4)  Duns  saw  the  confagium  of  hereditary 
sin  .dimply  in  the  flesh,  and  argued  against  the 
ThoT-oibtic  assumption  of  a  vulneratio  naturae;  the 
religious  view  of  sin  as  guilt,  jeopardized  already  by 
Augustine  and  Thomas,  fully  disappeared.  (5)  The 
Lii.crium  Uberium  arhitriuni  possessed  the  widest  scope,  since 
the  fundamental  thesis  had  been  sacrificed,  that  good 
exists  only  in  dependence  upon  Cod.  With  Duns 
and  the  leading  theologians  after  him  free-will  is  the 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OP   SIN,  ETC.      41)7 


d  of  by 
directly 
Jiod  and 
Li^d  only 
he  right 
on  of  an 
^  a  com- 
With 
in  the 
fall   of 
)f   God, 
Small 
thus  al- 
ig  ideal, 
ivld,  led 
of  guilt 
and  fell 
viewed 
jlind  to 
and  his 
y  sin  as 
reditary 
nst    the 
'cie;  the 
eady  by 
(5)  The 
)e,  since 

I  at  good 
h  Duns 

II  is  the 


second  great  power  by  the  side  of  God,  and  what- 
ever they  correctly  established  in  the  sphere  of  em- 
pirical psychology,  they  gave  to  it  also  a  material 
and  positive  religious  significance.  It  is  the  inher- 
ited fate  of  mediaeval  dogmatics,  that  in  the  amal- 
gamation of  a  knowledge  of  the  world  and  religion  a 
relatively  more  correct  knowledge  of  the  world  be- 
came finally  more  dangerous  to  faith  than  an  incor- 
rect knowledge.  Against  Pelagianism,  which  ever- 
more unhesitatingly  made  use  of  Augustinianism 
simply  as  an  "art  language",  Bradwardina  now  Bradwar- 
first  took  a  strong  stand,  and  after  that  the  reaction 
did  not  any  more  wane,  but  graduall}'  increrycd  dur- 
ing the  IStli  century  until  Wesel,  Wessel,  Staupitz, 
Caietan  and  Contarini  ap])eared.      (tJ)  In  the  doctrine    Justifica- 

*'  _  ^  ^  ^    ^  t'on  and 

of  justification  and  of  the  meritorious  earning  of  eter-  oJg*^^^orks 

nal  life  the  dissolution  manifested  itself  strongl}' :  (a) 

The  gratia  praeveniens  became  a  phrase,  the  (jra- 

tia  cooper ans  was  the  sole  comprehensible  grace;  (b) 

That  which  with  Thomas  was  meritum  de  coiigruo 

became  meritum  de  condigtio;  merita  de  congruOy 

however,  were  acknowledged  in  such  affections  as 

Thomas  had  not  placed  at  all  under  the  merit  point 

of  view;  (c)  Together  w ith  the  meritoriousness  of  the 

attritio  the  fides  inforinis,  the  mere  obedience  of 

faith,  was  also  valued  more  highly.     At  this  point 

the  perversion  became  greatest.     Mere  subiection  to  subjection 

the  faith  of  the  Church  and  the  attritio  became,  in    \Xl"^,yr"! 

a  measure,  the  fundamental  principles  of  dogmatics. 

According  to  Duns  the  natural  sinful  man  can  still 
32 


inent. 


i' 


} 


1 


:t 


I 


i 


I : 


(i 


498        OUTLINES   OF   THE    HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


\  k 

^E 

1 

.^i 

1' 

Ift 

t  if' 

' 

;  ' 

1 

■,''.1. 

( 

Jl   11 

' 

,\^ 

. 

H     :. 


Occam 
Takes  Ref- 
uge in 
Arbitra- 
riness. 
of  God. 


Necessity 

of  Super- 

natiirul 

Habitus 

Based  on 

Authority 

of  Church. 


prepare  himself  for  grace;  ho  can  begin  to  love  God. 
Therefore  he  must  do  so.  In  truth,  therefore,  merit 
always  precedes  grace;  first  the  nieritiuu  de  con- 
gruo,  then  after  accjuiring  the  first  grace  the  mer- 
itum  de  condigno.  Thereby  the  first  and  second 
grace  were  reduced  to  the  rank  of  mere  expedients. 
Indeed  the  Divine  factor  appears  only  in  the  accepta- 
tio.  The  latter,  however — here  the  conception  veers 
around, — does  not  in  the  strictest  sense  at  all  admit 
of  merit.  The  noDiinalisiic  doctrine  teas  only  in  so 
far  not  simple  moralism  as  ii  was  less,  i.e.  its 
doctrine  of  God  does  not  admit  in  any  way  of  a 
strict  moralism.  This  is  plainest  in  Occam,  who  in 
general  affords  the  paradoxical  spectacle  of  a  strongly 
develoi)ed  religious  sense  taking  refuge  solely  in  the 
arbitrariness  of  God.  Reliance  upon  the  latter,  as 
the  Church  defined  its  content,  alone  saved  him  from 
nihilism.  Faith,  in  order  to  maintain  itself,  found 
no  other  safety  against  the  inroad  of  the  flood  of 
science  than  the  plank  of  the  arbitrariness  of  the 
God  whom  it  sought.  It  no  longer  understood  him, 
but  it  submitted  to  him.  Thus  Church  dogma  and 
Church  practice  remained  standing,  just  because 
th'>  philosophy  of  religion  and  absolute  morality  were 
washed  away.  According  to  Occam  the  necessity 
of  a  supernatural  /,.-/;  'tiis  (therefore  of  grace  in  gen- 
eral) to  gain  eternal  life  cannot  bo  proved  by  argu- 
ments founded  upon  reason,  since  a  heathen  jUso 
through  reason  can  arrive  at  a  love  of  God.  The 
necessity  is   established   solely  by  the  authority  of 


R!) 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   DOCTRINE   OP  SIN,  ETC.      4!)!) 

the  Church.  ( )ccaiii  £incl  his  friends  were  as  yet  no 
moralists  or  rationalists ;  they  only  appear  so  to  us. 
The  Socinians  were  the  first,  for  they  first  raised  the 
hypothetical  tenets  of  the  nominalists  concerning 
natural  theology  to  categorical  rank.  But  thereby 
they  again  gained  a  mighty  reliance  upon  the  clear- 
ness and  pov/er  of  morality,  which  the  nominalists 
had  forfeited  together  with  their  inward  confidence 
in  religion.  If  in  tiie  15th  century  men  bewailed  the 
destruction  of  theology  in  religion,  they  had  in  mind 
the  tenets  which  were  put  into  practice, viz.,  that  good 
works  are  the  cansae  for  receiving  eternal  life,  that 
even  the  most  trifling  works  done  will  ever  bo  re- 
garded as  merits,  and  because  they  considered  sub- 
mission to  the  ordinances  of  the  Church  a  bonus 
motuSj  which,  supplemented  by  the  sacraments,  im- 
parts ^he  worthiness  necessary  for  eternal  life. 


Socinians 
First  Rft- 
tionalists. 


1 


i  'M 


'■;^i 


I 


The  lax  conception  of  hereditary  sin  showed  itself  ^gf^  s(*j^[y 


'    t 


in  the  development  of  the  dogma  concerning  Mary. 
Anselm,  Bernard,  Bonaventura  and  Thomas  still  as- 
cribed hereditary  sin  to  Mary,  even  if  they  admitted 
an  especial  reservation  regarding  it ;  but  by  the  year 
1140  at  Lyons  a  feast  of  the  immaculate  conception 
of  Mary  was  celebrated,  and  Duns  taught  that  tho 
immaculate  conception  was  prol)able  (retro-acting 
power  of  the  death  of  Christ).  The  controversy  be- 
tween the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  which  then 
arose  was  not  adjusted  in  the  iMiddle  Ages,  but  was 


Ascribed 
to  Mary, 


i 


r 


'm 


600       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

'^eant^'^"  forbidden  by  bixtus  IV.  The  Dominicans  did  not 
of^irgin!  otherwisG  take  a  subordinate  place  in  the  extrava- 
gant glorification  of  the  virgin.  Thomas  indeed 
taught  that  to  her  belongs  not  only  ^' dulia'\  as  to 
the  saints,  but "  hyperduUa^\  She  also  was  credited 
with  a  certain  part  in  the  work  of  redemption  (queen 
of  heaven,  inventrix  gratiae,  via,  janua,  scala, 
domina,  mediatrix).  The  assumption  of  the  Scot- 
ists,  that  she  had  cooperated  not  only  passively  but 
also  actively  at  the  incarnation,  was  a  natural  con- 
sequence of  the  adoration,  especially  as  Bernard 
taught  it. 


, ) 


W^j 


■4' 


BOOK  III. 

THE  THREE-FOLD  ISSUING  OF  THE  HISTORY 

OF  DOGMA. 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORICAL  SURVEY. 

THE  elements  of  the  Augustinian  theology  be- 
came more  prominent  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
but  they  were  gradually  more  widely  sundered  from 
one  another.  True,  Thomas  undertook  once  again 
to  solve  the  enormous  problem  of  satisfying  within 
the  bounds  of  one  system  all  the  claims  made  by 
ecclesiastical  antiquity  as  expressed  in  its  body  of 
dogma,  by  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  the  idea  of  the 
Church  as  an  ever-present,  living  Christ,  by  the 
legal  organization  of  the  Roman  Church,  by  Augus- 
tine's doctrine  of  grace,  by  the  science  of  Aristotle 
and  the  Bcinardine-Franciscan  piety ;  but  this  new 
Augustine  was  not  able  to  create  a  satisfactory  unity. 
His  undertaking  had  in  part  the  opposite  conse- 
quence, as  it  were.  The  nominalist's  criticism  of 
the  reason  and  the  mysticism  of  Eckhart  went  to 
school  to  Thomas;  the  curialists  learned  from  him 

and  so  did  the  "Reformers".     In  the  15th  century 

501 


Thomas 
Attempts 

to  Solve 

the  Prob- 

lem. 


f! 


(1'  '!  :  1 


r*  v''. 


hi; 

■I  # :  -' 


1 1,^ 


i   ''' 

! 

t 

W/i, 

,      ' 

•  *•> 

i 

^".•■; 

] 

:ibl 

>, 

y,  i  ' 


' 


!« 


{. 


11.  ,  I 


('urialism 

UsiiKes  of 

Cluircli 

Diviue 

Truth. 


502        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 

thec)l(jgic'al  dortriiio  seemod  to  be  settled.  But  there 
Mppeared  at  that  time  two  plain  tendencies:  Curial- 
isni  and  the  opposition  thereto. 

Curialism  taught  that  the  usages  of  the  Romish 
Church  are  Divine  truth.  It  treated  Church  affairs 
and  religion  as  an  outward  dominion  and  sought  to 
maintain  them  by  means  of  power,  bureaucracy  and 
an  oppressive  toll-system.  After  the  unlucky  course 
of  the  great  councils  a  general  lassitude  succeeded. 
The  princes  who  were  striving  for  absolutism  found 
their  match  when  they  bargained  with  the  curia  to 
share  with  it  in  the  shearing  of  the  sheep.  They 
gave  back  to  the  curia  in  ecclesiastical  matters  the 
absolute  power,  in  order  to  share  in  the  division 
of  the  resultant  mixture  (the  bulls,  "  ExecrabiHs" 
of  Pius  II.  in  the  year  1450,  and  "  Pastor  aeternus" 

p^emeover  of  Lco  X.  in  the  year  151G,  proclaim  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  pope  over  the  councils).  The  opinion 
that  papal  decisions  are  as  holy  as  the  decrees  of 
councils,  and  that  the  right  of  exposition  in  all 
things  belongs  only  to  the  Church,  i.e.  Rome,  grad- 

Decrees  of  ually  established  itself.      The  curia,  however,  was 

CV)iincils 

Miuic  Code  very  careful  to  compile  from  these  decisions  a  book 

)t   liiiws.  •^  ^ 

of  laws,  a  closed  dogmatic  canon.  Its  infallibility 
and  sovereignty  were  secure  only  when  it  still  had 
a  free  hand  and  when  men  were  obliged  to  accede  in 
every  case  to  its  judicial  utterance.  The  old  dogma 
was  esteemed  as  formerly;  but  the  questions  which 
it  treated  in  actual  life  lay  no  more  within  its  own 
province.     They  were   handled   by   theology.     The 


of 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUINtJ    OF   HISTORY    OF   DO(JMA.    e503 


latter,  however,  during  the  150  years  subseciiieiit  to 
Thomas,  canio  to  the  ccjiivictioii  of  the  irration- 
ality of  the  revealed  doctrine  and  therefore  gave  out 
the  watchword,  that  one  must  blindly  submit  to  the 
authority  of  the  Church.  This  development  favored 
curialisni ;  long  since  in  Rome  men  had  taught  that 
submission  to  the  authority  of  the  Church  {Jiclcs  im- 
pllcita)  would  secure  ])lessedness,  if  only  one  believed 
besides  in  the  Divine  recompense.  In  the  humanis- 
tic circles  of  the  curia  men  did  not  in  truth  wholly 
accept  this ;  yet  on  the  other  hand  pious  sentiment 
revered  the  Divine  in  the  irrational  and  arbitrary. 
That  this  entire  handling  of  the  matter  was  a  way 
of  burying  the  old  dogma  is  clear.  The  end  toward 
which  from  the  beginning  the  matter  was  directed 
in  the  Occident  now  revealed  itself  with  astounding 
clearness:  Dogma  is  institution,  is  a  code  of  laws. 
The  curia  itself  respected  the  same  only  formally; 
practically  there  lay  beneath,  as  in  the  case  of  all  codes 
in  the  hands  of  an  absolute  master,  tho politics  of  the 
curia.  The  "  tolerari  potesV  and  the  ^'' probabile^^ 
indicate  a  still  worse  secularization  of  the  dogma 
and  of  the  Church  than  the  ^Uiuathemci  sif\  Yet 
there  lay  a  truth  in  curialistic  ecclesiasticism  itself 
as  contrasted  with  those  tendencies  which  would 
found  the  Church  upon  the  sanctity  of  Christians. 
Against  the  Hussites  and  the  mystics  did  Rome  pre- 
serve the  right  of  the  conviction,  that  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  the  domination  of  the  Gospel  over  sinful 
men. 


I 


H 


I 


Dogma  is 
Institution. 


M 


W   l! 


i*  f-  i 


cM 


■P 


iH 


i ; 


( >iti){isition 

to 
(Jurialism. 


Reforma- 
tion 
Crippled 
from  Be- 
ginning. 


Practical 

Piety : 
Erasmus, 
Staupitz. 


504       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

Tlie  opposition  to  ciirialism  was  hold  together  by  a 
negative  thought,  that  the  usages  of  the  Romish 
Church  were  become  tyrannical  and  that  they  had 
the  testimony  of  ecclesiastical  antiquity  against 
them.  Here  political,  social,  religious  and  scientific 
motives  met  together.  Men  reasoned  accordingly  that 
papal  decisions  do  not  have  the  significance  of  articles 
of  faith,  that  Rome  is  not  the  only  one  authorized  to 
interpret  the  Scriptures  and  the  fathers,  that  the  coun- 
cil should  reform  the  Church  in  its  hierarchy  and  in 
its  members,  and  that  the  Church,  over  against  the 
dogmatic,  cultish  and  ecclesiastico-legalistic  innova- 
tions of  Rome,  must  return  to  its  original  principles 
and  to  its  original  attitude.  Men  believed  them- 
selves able  to  set  aside  the  evolution  of  the  preceding 
centuries  and  planted  themselves  in  thesi  upon  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  ecclesiastical  antiquity ;  but  in 
praxi  the  reformatory  aim  was  either  wholly  obscure 
or  contained  so  many  elements  of  the  post-Augustin- 
ian  development  that  the  opposition  was  crippled  from 
the  start.  Men  knew  not  whether  they  were  to  re- 
form usages  or  misusages^  and  they  knew  not  what 
they  should  do  with  the  pope,  whom  they  acknowl- 
edged and  rejected,  blessed  and  cursed  with  the  same 
breath  (cf.  Luther's  own  attitude,  1517-1520,  toward 
the  pope).  But  this  highly  inconsistent  opposition 
was  still  a  power,  save  within  the  realm  of  doctrine; 
for  the  latter  was  discredited  also  within  the  circles 
of  the  anti-curialists.  "Practical  piety"  was  the 
watchword  of  humanists  like  Erasmus  and  of  Au- 


i>'''': 


li.l 


THllEE-FOLD   lSSUIN(i   OF   HISTORY    OF   DO(JMA.    505 


Sociniau- 
iem. 


gustiiiiaiis  like  Staui)it/.  Men  were  surfeited  with 
that  theology  wliich  reaHoiied  over-mueh  within  tlio 
safe  haven  of  authority  and  rendered  the  truly  pious 
life  more  difficult.  If  the  Church  doctrine  were  only 
"science",  then  was  it  given  for  the  sake  of  the  lat- 
ter ;  it  ought  to  step  aside  and  make  way  for  a  new 
mode  of  thought  (see  Socinianism).  But  since  the 
old  dogma  was  more,  it  remained — yet  here  also 
as  a  legal  code.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  bold 
leaders  the  opposition  parties  respected  the  dogma 
with  the  instinct  of  self-preservation.  They  felt 
it  still  ever,  even  if  obscurely,  as  the  foundation 
of  their  exist*^nce.  But  they  wished  no  doctrinal 
controveroies :  Scholastic  (juibblings  were  as  distaste- 
ful to  them  as  monkish  quarrels,  still  they  wished  to 
free  themselves  from  scholasticism.  What  a  contra- 
diction !  The  ultimate  ground  lay  in  the  enormous 
breach  which  existed  between  the  old  dogma  and  the 
Christian  conceptions  whose  expressed  form  was  the 
life  of  the  day.  Dogma  was  the  soil  and  the  title- 
deed  for  the  existence  of  the  Church — but  which  old 
Church  dogma  had  then  still  for  piel;y,  as  it  then 
existed,  a  directly  comprehensible  sense?  Neither 
the  doctrine  of  the  trinity,  nor  of  the  two  natures. 
Men  thought  no  more  after  the  manner  of  the  Greeks. 
Piety,  as  it  developed  itself  in  the  15tli  century,  lived 
in   Aucrustine,  Bernard   and   Francis.      Under  the       Men 

°  ^  Thought  to 

shell  of  an  old  faith  a  new  piety  had  been  forming    5u'"[°tin'^ 
during  the  past  thousand  years  and  therefore  also  a     '*°''*"'' 
new  faith.     Men  here  and  there  thought  to  assist  by 


What  Con- 
tradic- 
tions ! 


•' 


^f 


' 


500        OUTLINES   OF   THK    IIISTOliV    OK    DOOM  A, 


H 


f-. 


Criticism 
Deneflcial. 


a  icturn  to  puro  Aiigustiiiiauisin.  Yot  tlio  criwis 
at  that  time,  tho  l)reac'li  botvvooii  the  dogmatic  legal 
regulations  m  the  Church  and  tho  obscure  aim  of 
piety,  sprang  (nit  of  the  soil  of  Augustinianism  it- 
self. Tho  defects  lay  germinally  already  in  their 
premises.  This,  it  is  true,  no  forerunner  of  the  Ref- 
ormation perceived;  but  the  fact  of  tiio  impossibility 
of  a  reformation  by  the  means  transmitted  by 
Augustine  is  thoroughly  apparent.  Tlie  disinteg- 
rated AiKjastinianifnit  i.s  still  Au(jnstinianismj 
how  then  shall  one  permaiteiithj  help  out  the  same 
with  the  genuine? 

Still  the  criticism  which  applied  the  revived  Au- 
gustinianism to  the  disintegrated  had  in  the  15th 
century  a  beneficial  influence,  without  whose  prepa- 
ratory W(n'k  the  Reformation  and  the  Tridentine 
council  were  inconceivable.  The  immoral,  irrelig- 
ious, yea,  heathenish  mechanism  of  the  dominant 
Church  was  discredited  by  this  Augustinianism; 
yes  even  more,  the  latter  unfettered  the  sense  of 
freedom  in  religion  and  therewith  the  striving 
after  real  religion.  It  worked  in  union  with  all  the 
forces  which  in  the  loth  century  recognized  the  right 
of  the  individual  and  of  subjectivity,  and  sought  to 
break  the  spell  of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  created  un- 
rest, an  unrest  which  went  beyond  itself — How  can 
one  be  a  free  and  at  the  same  time  a  blessed  man? 
But  no  one  was  able  to  formulate  this  question, 
because  no  one  felt  as  yet  its  full  force. 

With  the  close  of  the  loth  centurj^  various  issu- 


THREE-FOLD    ISSriN(}   OK   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    AO? 


ingH  of  the  crisis  seemed  possible:  A  complete  tri- 
umph of  curialism,  u  triumph  of  revivified  xVugiis- 
tiiiianism,  a  sundering  of  the  Churcli  into  diverse 
groups  of  the  most  rigid  ciirialism  and  of  a  ceremon- 
ial religion  verging  toward  a  rationalistic  and  fanat- 
ical Biblical  Christianity  which  should  discard  the 
old  dogma,  finally  a  now  reformation  of  religion  as  a 
whole,  i.e.  an  evangelical  reformation,  which  should 
root  up  and  discard  the  old  dogma,  because  the  now 
point  of  view — God  is  gracious  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  and  the  right  and  freedom  which  have  come 
through  him — could  permit  that  only  to  remain  in 
theology  which  belonged  to  him. 

In  reality,  however,  the  issuiugs  were  different. 
They  all  remained  burdened  with  contradictions: 
Tridentine  Catholicism,  Socinianisni  and  the 
Evangelical  Reformation.  In  the  first  curialism 
prevailed,  the  monarchical  institutional  dispenser  of 
blessedness  with  its  sacraments  and  its  "merits"; 
but  it  found  itself  compelled  to  make  a  compact  with 
Augustinianism  and  to  reckon  with  the  same  on  the 
basis  of  the  codification  of  the  new  dogmas  which 
had  been  extorted  from  it.  In  bocinianism  the 
nominalistic  criticism  of  the  understanding  and  the 
humanistic  spirit  of  the  new  era  prevailed;  but  it 
remained  entangled  in  the  old  Biblicism,  and  in 
setting  aside  the  old  dogmas  it  created  for  itself  new 
ones  in  opposition  to  the  old.  Finally  in  the  evan- 
gelical Reformation  the  infallible  organization  of  the 
Church,    the  infallible   doctrinal   traditions  of    the 


Various 
|ssiiiii>;s 
St'i'iiicd 
I'lisslhlt'. 


4 


Tri<it*ntine 

CatJioli- 

cisui. 


Sooinian- 
ism. 


Evanpt'lic- 
al  Kcfor- 
uiatiou. 


1  II 


lii 


!  i. 


608       OUTLINES   OF  THE   IIIHTOKY    OF   DOGMA. 


U  H 


?i^\': 


Dogma  is 
Phllo- 

Boptiical 
Knowledpw 
of  God  and 
the  World. 


Euchar- 
ist ic  Con- 
troveisy; 
Augsburg 

Coufes- 
8iou. 


C^liurch  and  tlii^  inralliblo  canon  of  Scripturo  woiv  in 
prin('i})l<^  H(>t   asido  and   a   wholly   now   standpoint 
secured ;  but  sagacity  and  courage  did  not  hold  out 
to  apply  in  (»ach  particular  instance  that  wliich  had 
been  secured  in  general.     On  the  assumption  that 
the  thing  itself  (the  Gospel) — not  the  authority — 
demanded  it,  men  retained  the  old  dogma  as  the  es- 
sential  content  of  the   Gospel  and   under  the  title 
"word  of  God"  they  returned  to  Biblicism.     Over 
against  the  new  doctrine  of  the  hierarcliical,  cultish, 
Pelagianistic  and  monkish  Christendom  men  saw  in 
the  old  dogma  only  the  expression  of  faith  in  God 
who  is  merciful  in  Christ,  and  failed  to  see  that 
dogma  at  the  same  time  is  something  entirely  differ- 
ent,   viz. :    Philosophical    cosmo-theistic  knowledge 
and  rule  of  faith.     But  that  which  men  admitted 
under  a  new  title  vindicated  itself,  when  once  it  had 
been  allowed,  by  a  logic  of  its  own.     Men  exalted 
the  true  theology,  the  theologia  crucifi,  and  placed 
it  upon  the  lamp-stand ;  but  in  doing  this  under  the 
old  ecclesiastical  forms  they  obtained  in  the  bargain 
the  accompanying  k)ioicled<je  and   ride  of  faith; 
and  the  doctrinal  controversies  of  the  evangelical 
parties  appeared  like  a  continuation  of  the  scholastic 
school-controversies,  oidy  with  infinitely  higher  sig- 
nificance; for  now  they  had  to  do  with   the  exist- 
ence of  the  new  Church.     Thus  arose  at  the  very 
beginning — at  least  with  the  eucharistic  controversy 
and  the  Augsburg  Confession,  which  now  began  to 
pour  the  new  wine  into  the  old  wine-skins — in  the 


THUEK-FOLI)    ISHUINC*   OF    IIISTOFIY   OF    DOOMA.    r.O'.l 


roHt-Tri- 

dfiitirit'. 

Catlinli- 

cisin. 


roformod  conception  of  (loctiiiio  u  liighly  compli- 
cated, contradictory  picture.  Only  in  the  principles 
of  Luther,  and  not  in  all  oC  them,  did  tho  new  spirit 
display  itself;  outside  of  these  it  contained  nothing 
new,  and  ho  who  to-day,  in  the  1 0th  century,  (Iocs 
not  take  this  spirit  as  his  monitor,  hut  rests  ([uietly 
beneath  tho  stunning  blow  which  it  gave  itself  at 
the  end  of  the  lOtli  century,  deceives  himself  in  re- 
gard to  his  own  position:  He  is  not  evangelical,  hut 
belongs  to  a  Catholic  sub-speci(»s  where  he  is  free,  in 
accordance  with  the  principles  of  present-day  l*rotes 
tantism,  to  select  tho  BiblicM'  dogmatii.al,  m3-stical 
or  hierarchical  elements. 

However,  the  rcstdlanfs  o/  (he  Jiistonj  of  the 
dogma  are  clearly  represented  in  the  three  following 
creations :  Post-Tridentino  Catholicism  finally  com- 
pleted the  neutralizing  of  the  old  dogma  in  an  arbi-  sooinian 
trary  papal  legal  organization;  Socinianism  a[)pre- 
ciably  disintegrated  and  came  to  an  end;  tho 
Reformation,  in  that  it  both  sot  the  dogma  aside  and 
preserved  them  outright,  looked  away  from  them, 
backward  to  the  Gospel,  forward  to  a  new  formida- 
tion  of  the  Gospel  confession  which  s-liall  be  free 
from  dogma  and  bo  reconciled  with  truthfulness  and 
truth.  In  this  sense  the  history  of  dogma  sh(juld  ^^J"^||^^ 
set  forth  the  issuings  of  dogma.  In  the  Reforma- 
tion it  has  only  to  describe  the  Christianity  of  Luther, 
in  order  to  make  the  subsequent  development  com- 
prehensible. The  latter  belongs  either  as  a  whole  to 
the  history  of  dogma  (up  to  the  present  time) ,  or  not 


t» 


^ff' 


r 

if  ■ 


,.' 


IS  f 


>l 


H  ;;    * 


Curia  and 
Princes. 


510       OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

at  all.  It  is  more  correct,  however,  to  exclude  it 
entirely,  for  the  old  dogma  claimed  to  bo  Infallible. 
This  claim  the  Reformation,  so  to  speak,  disclaimed 
for  its  own  productions — there  was  silence  as  to 
the  old  dogmas.  Therefore  he  who  still  seeks  for 
a  middle  conception  between  reformable  and  infal- 
lible w^ould  perpetuate  forever  the  confusions  of  the 
epigonoi,  if  he  should  recognize  dogmas  in  the 
expositions  of  Protestantism  in  the  IGth  century. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   ISSUING   OF   THE  DOGMA  IN   ROMAN 
CATHOLICISM. 

1.  The  Codification  of  the  Mediaeval  Doctrines  in 
Opposition  to  rrotestantism  {Canons  and 
Decrees  of  Trent) . 

Edition  of  the  decrees,  lo84.  Earher  works  in  Kollner, 
Pymbolik,  1844,  later  in  Ilerzog,  RE-.  sub  verb.  Tndentinum. 

In  Rome  they  wished  only  to  condemn  strange 
doctrines,  not  to  codify  their  own ;  they  also  wanted 
no  council.  But  one  was  required  of  the  curia  by  the 
princes.  In  the  coming  together  it  became  clear  that 
the  mediaeval  spirit  h.'id  acquired  strength  from  the 
Reformation,  humanism  and  Augustinianism,  but 
that  this  spirit  itself  remained  the  stronger  power. 
The  curia  accomplisliod  the  masterful  work  of  ap- 
propriating the  new,  of  condemning  the  Reformation, 
of  justifying  itself  and  yet  of  setting  aside  thereby 
the  most  glaring  abuses.     In  opposing  the  Luther 


I- 


THREE-FOLD    ISSriN(J    OF   HISTORY    OF   I)0(JMA.    511 


movement,  they  wore   obliged   to  trans':orin   many 
medioBval   doctrines    into  dogmas — 1.iio    decrees   of  ^^T,vMt  ^^ 
Trent  are  the  shadows  of  the  Fetcjrmatioi;.     AVliat  'u^lorma" 

tiou, 

originally  to  the  mind  of  the  curia  ap])eared  to  be 
a  misfortune — the  necessity  of  formulating  and  the 
compulsory  return  to  Augustinianism, — proved  itself 
later  to  be  an  advantage:  They  had  a  iiow  lulc  of 
faith,  which  could  be  applied  with  ver})al  strictness, 
whenever  it  seemed  expedient,  and  which  was,  on 
the  other  hand,  so  amhiijuous  and  elastic  as  to  leave 
free  play  for  the  arbitrary  decisions  of  the  curia. 
The  latter  reserved  the  right  of  interpretation  and 
the  council  conceded  this,  auvl  thus  already  did  infal- 
libility accrue  in  principL.'  to  the  pope.  The  curia  ^.'hangw?," 
itself  was  accordingly  unchanged,  i.e.  it  came  fortli  iniproved. 
from  the  purgatory  of  the  council  with  r '1  its  cus- 
toms, practices,  assumptions  and  sins ;  but  the  inner 
condition  of  the  Church  as  a  whole  was  nevertheless 
improved.  By  reason  of  its  inner  untruthfulness  and 
because  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  to-dav  have 
been  consistently  developed  in  not  a  few  points  (re- 
cent rejection  of  Augustinianism,  decision  of  the 
question,  undecided  at  Trent,  whether  the  po})e  be 
the  universal  bishop  and  infallible),  the  Tridentine 
decrees  are  no  longer  an  unobscured  source  of  Cath- 
olicism. Even  at  Trent  were  the  dogma  transformed 
into  a  dogma-politics,  and  tlie  laity  debarred  from 
faith  and  do<4ma :  Evervthing  that  has  been  handed 
down  is  most  holy  as  regard  its  verbal  meaning,  but 
in  theology  it  resolves  itself  into  an  array  of  more  or 


'I 

A 


■I! 


r^; 


^  ?t 


M> 


i! 


iS' 


\h 


)  I' 


;-r 


Re-Baptis,n 
and  Prot- 
estants De- 
nounced. 


Tradition. 


513       OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

less  probable  meanings,  which,   in  the  case  of  any 
controversy,  are  decided  by  the  pope. 

They  agreed  in  the  rejection  of  "  re-baptism"  and 
Protestants.  After  reiterating  the  Constantinopoli- 
tan  creed,  they  declared  in  the  4th  session,  in  order 
to  guard  the  ^^jjun'tasevangeUl",  that  the  apocrypha 
are  of  like  rank  with  the  Old  Testament,  that  the 
vulgato  is  to  be  considered  as  authentic,  and  that 
the  Church  alone  is  permitted  to  interpret  the  Scrip- 
tures. By  the  side  of  the  latter,  however,  they  placed 
the  "  traditiones  sine  scripto,  quae  ah  ipsiiis 
Chn'sti  ore  ah  apostolis  acceptae  ant  ah  ipsius 
apostoUs^  spiritu  sancfo  (lidanie^  (jnasi  per 
manus  traditae  ad  nos  nsqiie perreneriinf  (in  an- 
other place  the  definition  expresses  the  idea  some- 
what differently).  In  the  5th  and  Gtli  sessions  the 
decrees  in  regard  to  original  sin  and  justification 
were  formulated.  Here  under  the  spell  of  the  re- 
awakened Augustinianism  and  of  the  Reformation 
they  did  not  commit  themselves  to  the  nominalistic 
doctrine,  but  approached  ver}-  near  to  Thomas ;  in- 
deed their  doctrine  of  justification,  although  it  was 
born  of  politics,  is  a  very  respectable  prodiact, 
in  which  an  evangelical  element  is  not  wanting. 
But  (1)  lines  were  drawn  here  and  there  which  led 
^senii-      to  a  Scotistic  (semi-Pelagian)  understanding  of  the 

Pelapian-  ^  o         '  o 

doctrine,  (3)  it  made  verj'  little  difference  what  was 
said  in  the  chief  sentence  about  sin  and  grace,  when 
in  the  subordinate  sentences  the  thesis  was  allowed, 
that  the  practices  of  the  Roman  Church  are  the  chief 


isui; 
Roman 
Church 

Laws. 


li 


n 


[A. 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    513 


3  of  any 

sm"  and 
tinopoli- 
in  order 
•ocrypha 
that  the 
md  that 
le  Scrip- 
y  placed 

ipsiiis 
•  ipsius 
si    per 

(in  an- 
i  some- 
ons  the 
fication 
the  re- 
•mation 
nalistic 
las;  in- 

it  was 
rodiact, 
anting, 
ich  led 

of  the 
lat  was 
,  when 
llowed, 
e  chief 


tion. 


law.  By  the  first  sin,  it  was  admitted,  Adam  lost 
holiness  and  righteousness  "  i)i  qua  coxstifxtus 
fu('raV\  became  changed  "indefcrius''  in  body  and 
soul,  and  perpetuated  his  sin  ''^  pvopacjaiione' .  Y(^t 
they  [dso  taught  that  free  will  was  not  destroyed,  but  Free  vvm. 
^' viribns  a  it  eiuiatus^\  and  that  baptism  reall}' blots 
out  the  )rafus  orUjinalispeccafl^  but  the  conmipis- 
centia  (fonies),  which  is  not  to  bo  looked  upon  as 
sin,  remains  (therefore  the  religious  view  was  aban- 
doned). As  regards  justification  it  was  explained  •^"fM^'^'^ 
that  it  is  the  act  by  which  man  p{^;sses  from  an  un- 
righteous to  r  righteous  state  (through  baptism,  i.e. 
the  sacrament  of  penance) ;  it  arises,  however,  not 
simph"  through  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  but  also 
through  the  sanctifying  and  renewing  of  the  inner 
man  by  a  free  acceptance  of  grace,  although  the 
man  is  incapable  of  freeing  himself  from  the  domin- 
ion of  sin  i)c^'  ^'2"*  naturae,  or  jxt  litteram  Icy  is 
Moijsis.  On  the  one  hand,  justification  appears  as 
the  translatio  from  one  condition  to  another,  viz. 
to  that  of  adoption,  and  faith  was  looked  upon  as  the 
determining  power  alongside  of  grace  {'^Christum 
proposuit  deus  propitiatorem  ter  ftdem  in  san- 
gvine  ijjsius  jjro  peccatis  nostris^') ;  on  the  oth(»r 
hand,  it  appears  as  a  sanctifying  process  through 
the  inpouring  of  grace  ("'  Christi  sanctissiniae 
jmssiouis  imrito  per  spirltum  sanctum  caritas 
dei  diffnuditur  in  coidibus'\  so  that  man  in  justifi- 
cation receives  at  the  same  time  with  the  forgiveness 

of    sin    an   inflow  of   faith,  love   and   liope;    with- 
83 


■|''i 


Two 
Views. 


'I 


' 


I'  :;il'' 


li  i| 


Gratia 

Pra<^v('n- 

iens. 


5U       OUTLINES  OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

out  the  last  tw(),  man  is  neither  perfectly  united  to 
Christ,  nor  is  his  faith  a  living  one).  The  latter 
view  is  the  docisivc,  and  accordingly  the  stadia  of 
the  process  of  justification  (inception  et  seq.)  are 
set  forth  in  a  general  way.  The  gratia  pnicvemens 
exhausts  itself  in  the  vocatio  {nnllis  existentihus 
meritis) ;  but  therein  is  the  inception  not  exhaust- 
ed, much  more  does  there  belong  to  it  the  illii- 
minatio  spiritus  Sanctis  which  enables  man  to  turn 
toward  the /«sf?7m  and  gives  him  therewith  a  dis- 
position and  a  free  surrender  to  God.  In  that  now 
justijicatio  first  ensues,  the  thought  of  the  gratia 
gratis  data  is  vitiated.  Only  in  ahstracto  is  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  inherently  peculiar,  and  the  same 
is  true  of  justification ;  in  concreto  it  is  a  gradual  pro- 
cess of  sanctification  which  is  completed  in  the  mor- 
tificatio  meinbrornni  carnis  and  made  manifest 
through  manifold  grace  in  an  obedience  to  the  com- 
mands of  God  and  the  Church.  Unto  an  assurance 
of  the  acquired  grace  can  one  not  attain  in  this  life ; 
but  the  lack  of  this  can  be  repaired  through  penance; 
the  process  also  does  not  need  to  be  begun  anew,  in 
so  far  as  faith  lias  remained  in  spite  of  the  loss  of 
the  justifying  grace.  The  goal  of  the  process  in  this 
Opera  the  lif^  is  the  houa,  opera,  which  God  by  virtue  of  his 
grace  receives  as  pleasing  to  himself  and  as  meri- 
torious. Accordingly  one  must  view  these  on  the 
one  hand  as  gifts  of  God  and  on  the  other  as  real 
means  to  blessedness, — The  most  important  thing 
is,   that   (in  opposition  to  the  Thomas-Augustinian 


Forgiv(^- 
ness  of  Sin 
a  i'rccess. 


Bona 


J   I 


V.  i'* 


i. 


THREE-FOLD    ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    515 


nited  to 
e  latter 
adia  of 
q.)  are 
veniens 
entibus 
xhaust- 
le  ilhi- 
to  turn 
1  a  dis- 
at  now 
gratia 
I  is  the 
le  same 
lal  pro- 
le  mor- 
lanifest 
le  com- 
airance 
lis  life ; 
mance ; 
lew,  in 

loss  of 
in  this 
of  his 
3  merl- 
on the 
[IS  real 

thing 
■itinian 


tradition)   the  gratia  prima  does  not  justify,  but 
only  disposes.     Therefore  justification  arises  out  of    Justifu-a- 
a   cooperation.     No  Augustinian   phraseology  can     fp,'„'f'(':„. 
co.ceal  this.     Of  the  oo  anathemas,  20  are  directed    ^''^''■"' "'"• 
against  Protestantism.     In  the  condemnation  of  the 
sentence,     "Jidem    jn.'ifijicateni    tiiliiJ     aJiud    essr 
qiiam   fiducinm    divinae    miserirordiae    peaida 
remittentis  propter  Christum,    ret  eani  fiducian 
solam   esse,    cpia  justifieami(r'\    something    more 
was  implicitly  condemned,  viz.  rigid  Augustinian- 
ism,  —  therein    does   the   artfulness    of    the   decree 
consist. 

In  the  7th  and  following  sessions  the  doctrine  of  Doctrinoof 

Sacni- 

the  sacraments  was  formulated  and  the  Church  was  nmnn. 
declared  a  sacramental  institution  {'^ per  sticraineiita 
omnis  vera  justitia  vel  incijnt  vel  eoepta  augetur 
vel  amissa  reparatur'") ;  concerning  the  word  and 
faith  there  was  accordingly  silence.  Instead  of  a  doc- 
trine of  the  sacraments  in  gen  ere  V,\  anathemas  were 
formulated,  which  contain  the  real  i)rotest  against 
Protestantism.  The  institution  by  Christ  of  all  of 
the  seven  sacraments  was  affirmed,  as  well  as  the 
impossibility  of  being  justified  per  solam  fid  em, 
without  the  sacraments.  These  "  coiiti)ient  gratia m^^ 
and  accordingly  possess  a  mysterious  jiower,  which 
they  bestow  ex  opere  operato  upon  those  ''^  qui 
ohicem  non  pomoiV.  In  other  respects  also  the 
Thomistic  doctrine  (character,  intention,  etc.)  is 
everywhere  preserved,  yet  the  theological  subtleties 
are  laid  aside,  and  the  trcUisition  to  the  Scotistic  fcrm 


'■':li 


510        OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


t '  1 


\\i, 


,r 


1 1 


Depart- 
ul•t^s 
frotn 
Usa{,'es  of 
Church 
Con- 
demned. 


Transub- 

stantia- 

ticu. 


Canones. 


of  statomont  remaiiiw  possible.  At  tlio  close  of  the 
anathemas  every  departure  from  the  once  established 
usages  of  tlie  Church  was  condemned.  For  the  treat- 
ment of  the  individual  sacraments  the  bull  of  Eugene 
IV.,  Exult  ate  domino  (143!)),  served  as  a  prototype. 
The  declarations  in  regard  to  baptism  and  confirma' 
tion  are  instructive  only  in  that  by  the  former  those 
persons  are  condemned  who  teach  that  all  subsecpient 
sins"6'o/rt  rccordatione  ct  jUlc  snsccpti  tKiptiHmV 
can  be  forgiven,  and  ])y  the  latter  that  the  bishop 
alone  is  prochdmed  as  minister  .sdcninienii.  Touch- 
ing the  eucharist  the  Thomistic  theologumena  were 
transformed  into  a  dogma.  In  virtue  of  tlie  tvansvd^- 
stantiation  the  entire  Christ  is  present  in  each  par- 
ticle of  each  of  the  elements,  and  such  is  the  case 
before  their  reception ;  hence  the  host  is  to  bo  wor- 
shipped ("I'/t  eiicliaristia  ipse  sanctitatis  ciuctor 
ante  usnm  est").  All  usages  were  here  designated 
as  apostolic.  The  effect  of  the  sacrament  remains 
highly  insignificant ;  those  were  expressly  condemned 
who  held  forgiveness  to  be  the  principal  fruit. 
At  the  most  contested  point,  the  mass,  the  sum 
total  of  tradition  was  sanctioned,  a  few  supersti- 
tious misusages  only  being  discountenanced.  Low 
and  high  mass  {''  sdcrifieiinn  pvopiti'iioriuni  pro 
vivis  et  defunetis  nonduni  ad  plenum  purgatis'') 
were  as  much  justified — notwithstanding  all  scru- 
ples of  princes — as  the  withholding  of  the  cup  and 
the  Latin  language.  The  eanones  place  all  refor- 
matory   movements    vmdor    the    ban    and    thereby 


i^ 


TfllJKE-FOLD   ISSUING    OF   HISTORY   OF   DOr.MA.    517 


rigidly  oxcIluIo  the  Cliunli  cf  llu>  word  from  llio 
Clmrcliof  thepjigau  niass-oli'eriiig.  The  doctrine  of 
penance  is  much  more  thoroughly  handled  than 
that  of  the  eucharist  abonc  which  the  theologians 
alone  contended.     Even  unto  the  materia  and  quasi 


iter 


tli( 


>ct  t( 


Attritio 
Ktjuals 


materia  was  tlie  entire  scholastic  labor  in  respect  to 
penance  receiv^ed  as  dogma.  Hence  a  more  extended 
examination  (see  above,  j).  47!))  is  unnecessar}'.  Yet 
it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  attritio  is  very  cir-  ^ ""[,','1'^'*' 
cumspectly  handled,  and  is  eveI■y^\llere  looked  upon  J''^'''^^*- 
as  contritio  imperfecta.  So  much  the  more  cate- 
gorically wav  the  confessio  of  every  mortal  sin  be- 
fore the  priest  encouraged  and  ihv)  Judicial  character 
of  the  priest  emphasized.  The  sat i sf act i ones  were, 
as  with  Thomas,  considered  just  as  necessary  for  the 
temporalis  poena  peccati  'ci'!^  the  indulgences.  Yet  ^"'^"e?" 
men  spoke  very  reservedly  about  the  matter.  The 
scholastic  theory  is  not  alluded  to,  the  abuse  is  per- 
mitted ;  yet  touching  the  ///  iiaj  itself  absolutely  noth- 
ing is  conceded  (whoever  declares  indulgences  not  to 
be  salutary  is  to  be  condemned) .  In  regard  to  the  last 
anointing,  the  orders  and  marriage  they  rtished  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  septem  ordines  were  rdready 
given  o/>  ipso  initio  ecclesiae.  The  old  contested 
question  regarding  the  relation  of  the  bishops  to  the 
priests  was  not  decided,  vet  the  former  acquired  a 
superiority.  Regarding  raarriage  they  discoursed  -^'firriaKe 
only  homiletically  and  ecclesiastically,  yet  they  con- 
demned those  who  denied  that  it  conferred  a  gratia. 
On  the  questions  respecting  ptu-gatory,  saints,  relics 


II I  pi; 
I'  W'^- 


I    t 


'  Kil 


51 S       OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY  OP  DOOMA. 

and  imagoH  thoy  spoko  regretfully  of  the  fibuses,  yet 
strongly  maintained  the  tradition,  indulging  the 
spirit  of  the  times  in  cautious  language.  Thus  did 
the  Church,  in  its  specific  secuhirization  as  a  sacrifi- 
cial, priestly  and  sacramental  institution,  round  itself 
out  by  the  Tr /dentine  decrees  and  never  once  sur- 
render its  idols  (See  on  the  practice  of  benedictions, 
sacraments  and  IndMlgences,  Gihr,  d.  h,  Messopfer, 
1887;  Schneider,  die  Ablasse,  1881).  The  decrees 
rooted  die  Churdi  firmly  in  the  soil  of  tlie  Middle 
Ages  and  of  scholasticism :  Sacraments,  obedience^ 
merit. 


I 


tv 


\ 


Curialism 
or  Episco- 
pacy? 


2.  The   Post-Tridentine  Development  as  a  Prep- 
aration for   the  Vatican  Decrees. 

Deiiziuger,  Enchiridion,  5.   Aufl.,  1874. 

The  questions  not  wholly  decided  at  Trent:  Curi- 
alism or  episcopacy,  Augustinianism  or  Jesuitic 
Pelagianism,  moral  law  or  probability,  continued 
to  agitate  the  three  following  centuries.  The  first 
question  Ijecame  a  double  one :  Pope  or  council,  papal 
decision  or  tradition.  The  Vatican  council  decided 
in  favor  of  curialism  and  therewith  also  for  Jesuit- 
ism. 
1 .  (a)  At  Trent  the  Ofjposition  between  the  curial- 
Romanus.  ists  and  the  champions  of  episcopacy,  touching  the 
article  respecting  rhe  powei'  of  the  pope,  was  not 
permitted  to  come  io  a  decision  at  all ;  but  the pro- 
fessio  Jidei  Tridentivo.c  had  already  smuggled  the 


Cate- 
chisnius 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUINCJ   f)F   HISTORY   OF   DOOMA.    519 


Rornisii  Cliuivli  and  thi'  pope  into  its  credo,  and  tlio 
Thomistic*  Catechi.snnis  JiotNanns  Uiuy;\ii  papal  au- 
tocracy as  an  article  of  faith  ("  uecessitritini  fnit  hoc 
visihile  caput  ad  nnltatciu  ccch\siac  constitueiidam 
et  conservandattr).  Yet  there  arose  a  vigorous  op- 
position, viz.,  in  the  France  of  Henry  IV.  and  Louis 
XIV.  Men  reverted  there  (Bossu(»t)  to  Gallicanism  ouHifan- 
(in  other  respects  also  the  Tridentine  decrees  were  not  ^oasuet. 
unconditionally  accepted),  partly  in  the  interest  of 
the  king,  partly  in  that  of  the  nation  and  its  bishops 
(residence  of  the  bishops  di vino  jure).  As  to  the 
meaning  of  the  primacy,  which  was  allowed  to  pass, 
they  were  as  little  able  to  arrive  at  clearness  and 
unanimity  as  in  the  15th  century;  but  it  remained 
settled  that  the  king  and  the  bishops  should  rule  the 
French  church,  that  the  pope  has  nothing  to  say  about 
temporal  things,  and  that  in  spiritual  things  also  he 
is  bound  by  the  decisions  of  the  councils  (Constance), 
his  decisions  consecpiently  being  unalterable  only  by 
the  concurrence  of  the  Church  (Gallican  propositions 
of  1G82).  The  popes  rejected  these  propositions,  but 
did  not  break  with  France.  At  the  end  of  his  life  Louis  xiv. 
the  great  king  himself  discounted  them,  without 
formally  withdrawing  them.  They  were  in  the  18th 
century  still  ever  a  power  until  the  monarch  who 
elevated  them  to  constitutional  law  (1810)  handed 
them  over  to  the  curia — Napoleon  I.  The  way  in  Napoleon 
which  he,  ivith  the  consent  of  the  popes,  shattered 
the  Church  and  ecclesiastical  organization  which 
were  overturned  by  the  revolution,  in  order  to  rebuild 


if'H; 


]\ 


520       OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF    r)0(}M\. 


Romanti- 
cists. 


Ems'  Pro- 
grauiuu'. 


Peace  of 
Vienna. 


Professio 
Fidei  Tri- 
di'utiuae. 


Jesuits. 


tliL'iii  ill  conjinivliun,  tn'f/i  flic  l(iUet\  was  by  a 
surrender  uf  the  Fronch  chiircli  to  tho  popes.  The 
emperor  did  not  intend  it  as  sucli,  Init  such  it  was. 
The  romanticists  (de  Maistre,  Bonald,  Chateau- 
l)riand  et  al.)  completed  the  work  in  union  with  tlie 
restoration.  Gallicanism  was  exterminated.  In  so 
far  as  France  is  Catholic  to-day,  it  is  papal;  however 
the  official  politics  also  watches  over  the  interests 
of  ultramontanism  in  foreign  lands.  In  Germany 
Fehronius  (ITOU)  made  a  vigorous  attack  ui)on 
curialism ;  but  since  the  one  wanted  an  arch-episco- 
pal national  church  (Ems'  "programme",  178G),  the 
other  state  churches  (Joseph  II.  et  al.),  nothing  actu- 
ally came  of  it.  The  old  Church  organization  and 
the  new  plan  for  restoring  it  went  down  in  the 
whirlpool  of  the  Napoleonic  epoch.  In  the  peace  of 
Vienna  a  new  Church  emerged,  which  the  Curia 
directed,  and  in  which  the  latter  with  the  help  of  the 
princes,  the  ultramontane  romanticists,  trustful  lib- 
erals and  Metternich  diplomatists  crushed  out  the 
remnant  of  episcopacy  and  of  national  churchdom. 

1.  (b)  T\\Q  professio  fidei  Tridentinae\\ai(\.ai\vQ&.dLY 
given  tradition  a  far  wider  range  than  the  Tridentine 
decrees  themselves  {'''  apostolicas  et  ecclesiasticas 
traditiones  reliquasque  eitisdem  ecclesiae  ohser- 
vationes  et  const  it  uti  ones  firmissime  admitto  et 
amplector  ")  and  had  raised  it  above  the  Scriptures. 
The  Jesuits  subordinated  the  latter  more  and  more 
to  tradition  and  took  particular  pains  on  that  account 
to  formulate  the   inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  in  as 


TIIHEE-FOLI)    ISSUIN(!    OF    IIISTOIIV    OF    l)0(i\l.\.    5.!  I 

loose  a  way  a;4  possible,  so  that  indood  llir  X'iitican 
decrees  seem  lo  liave  done  away  with  tiie  eontradie- 
tion.  Modem  Catliolieisin,  however,  deinaiids  both, 
— the  holdinjjf  of  Scriptural  tradition  as  inviolably 
sacred,  and  at  the  same  time  the  puttingof  the  linger 
cautiously  upon  its  insufficiency  and  its  defects. 
More  important  was  the  develoi)ment  of  the  id(*a  of 
tradition.  In  theory  the  stjitement  was  lirml}'  main-  Tradition, 
tained  that  there  are  no  new  revelations  in  the 
Church;  in  reality  the  gnostic  (secret  traditi<ni)  and 
enthusiastic  tradition-p.'inci])le,  nyainst  which  lu)W- 
ever  the  C.Vitholic  Church  once  arrayed  itself,  was 
ever  most  boldly  contended  for.  Bellarmine  was  as  B'-nar- 
yet  timid ;  but  Cornelius  Mussus,  a  member  of  the  muhsus. 
Tridentine  council,  had  already  put  forth  the  asser- 
tion that  in  matters  of  faith  ho  believed  one  jiope 
more  than  a  fhon.sdnd  Augustines  and  Jeromes.  The 
quite  new  article,  that  all  practices  of  the  Roman 
Church  are  tradition,  the  Jesuits  enlarged  by  the 
very  newest,  that  every  doctrinal  decision  of  the  i)ope 
is  tradition.  Here  and  there  in  truth  they  spoke 
disparagingly  in  regard  to  councils  and  pr(jof  from 
tradition,  or  declared  the  best  attested  decrees  as  forg- 
eries, in  order  tovanciuish  history  by  the  dogma  con- 
cerning the  pope.  The  Church  itself  is  the  Hving  ^^^^^  '^ 
tradition,  the  Church  however  is  the  pope;  there- 
fore the  pope  is  the  tradition  (Pius  IX.).  And  he 
exercised  this  attribute  in  1S.")4  by  the  proclamation 
of  the  immaculate  conception  of  the  virgin  Mary, 
thus  solving  an  old  contested  question  (seep.  449). 


f 


53-i       OUTLINES   OF   TIIK   HISTOllY    OF   DOfSMA. 


:,^i 


iri: 


Au^ruHtln- 

iiu'iHin 
liUid  Auidc. 


Domlni- 

caiiH  aud 

Jesuits. 


Molina 

Htnivt^s 

St'iiii-Pela- 

tiiuuisui. 


Tliat  which  could  not  ho  accoinpliwhctl  hy  force  at 
Tivni, propter  <iH(jii.s(i(is  tcniporunt,  rules  to-ihiy, — 
an  liorotical  principle  wiicii  nicasiii-cd  hy  Catholic 
aiiti(piity. 

{'i)  111  tho  Catcchi.siHKs  Kodkihuh  (150(5),  which 
the  Jesuits  ghidly  adopted,  Augustiuiauismohtaiiicd 
its  last  official  monument.  Thenceforth  they  sought 
to  prove  that  the  doctrine  of  gvaco  received  its  sanc- 
tion through  tli(^  worhl-shaping  })ractice  of  the  con- 
fessional. Already  in  the  year  1507  it  came  to  pass 
that  Pius  V,  rejected  the  70  articles  of  the  Lyons 
professor,  Hajus,  which  in  tho  main  set  forth  the 
most  stringent  Augustinianism,  although  intermin- 
gled with  foreign  elements  and  otherwise  unfavora- 
ble to  the  Reformation.  A  long  and  heated  contro- 
versy arose  between  the  Dominicans  and  the  Jesuits. 
The  former  resisted  the  Jesuit  educational  system, 
condemned  the  most  objectionable  articles  of  the 
Jesuits  (Lessius  and  Hamel)  and  sought  to  maintain 
the  Thomistic  teaching  in  regard  to  the  gravity  of 
the  first  sin,  in  regard  to  concupiscence  and  the 
gratia praeveriiens.  The  latter  laid  particular  stress 
upon  free-will  and  the  "disposition".  Among  them 
Molina  made  the  greatest  sensation  by  his  work: 
"  Liberi  arhitrii  cum  gratiae  donisy  divina  prae- 
scientia  .  .  .  praedestinat ione  .  .  .  concordia" 
(1588).  He  attempted  to  read  semi-Pelagianism 
into  Augustinianism ;  in  reality  he  gave  the  latter 

away  altogether.  In  order  to  allay  the  stormy  con- 
troversy recourse  was  had  to  Rome.     She  had  no  in- 


% 


TIIKKE-FOI.I)   ISSriNO   OF   IIISTOKY    OF'    FXKIMA.    r>*)3 


Jans«>nist 

Com- 
trovtTHy. 


torest  in  tin*  tiling'  itself,  but  only  in  the  (»i)p«»rtuiiity ; 
the  controversy  lioW(>ver  was  not  about  Aii^ustino 
and  Pelagius,  but  about  Doininieans  ami  Jesuits. 
Polities  reciuired  that  neither  party  should  be  wholly 
saeritieed.  The  '' cotu/rcudfio  dc  (iu,n'liis'\  which  eotiK'n^a. 
Bat  from  150S  to  HJOT  (the  pope  during  the  same  time  (t^.j^S' 
being  intimidated  by  the  Jesuits),  was  finally  dis- 
solved without  its  arriving  at  a  decision  {'''fore  ut 
sua  Sanch'fits  dcchirdfionciN  cf  (h'tcriuiudtioneniy 
quae exspectahdtui^  opportune proinnhjarer) .  The 
failure  to  decide  was  in  fact  a  vi(;tory  for  the  Jesuits. 
The  Jansenist  contest  was  still  worse.  In  Catho- 
lic France,  which  had  expelled  the  Reformation  after 
fearful  struggles,  an  earnest  piety  gradually  worked 
itself  out  alongside  the  frivolous  court  and  state 
Catholicism  and  the  lax  Jesuitism.  The  posthumous 
work  of  Bishop  Janseu  of  Ypres,  '*  Augustinus" 
(IG-tO),  brought  the  same  to  an  historical  and  theo- 
logical halt.  This  piety  rose  right  up  in  order  to  free 
the  Church  from  the  Church,  the  faith  from  tradi- 
tional Christianity,  and  morality  from  the  refined 
and  lax  morality.  The  confessional  of  the  Jesuits 
seemed  to  it  to  be  the  ^'eal  enemy  (Pascal's  Letters :  ■'^p^^^,^ 
"  Ecce patres,  qui  lollunt  peccata  niandi ! ") .  The 
order  of  Jesus  was  able  to  hold  out  against  this  form- 
idable attack  only  by  assuming  the  offensive  and 
by  branding  the  pure  Augustinianism  of  Jansen  and 
his  friends  as  heresy  ("Jansenism").  The  popes 
allowed  themselves  to  gain  the  day.  Urban  VIII. 
("/n  eminenti"),  but  above  all  Innocence  X.  ("  Cum 


Confes- 
Hioriul 


!» 


lif 


1 

a&k 

E 

lam 

TirW"* 

ml 

fj9 

If 

1 

i  ■ 

>       I 


I  M 


m    ^ 


I    ; 


n- 


524        OUTLINES   OF   THE   IIISTORV    OF   DOGMA. 

occasione'')  and  Alexaiuki'  Vll.  (".!(/  sancti  b. 
Petri sedeiii^^)  forbade,  i.e.  condemned  Jaiisen's  b<^'^^'. 
Innocent  indicated  besides  five  articles  of  Jansen's 
as  objectionable.  Then  arose  a  violent  ojiposition : 
Tlie  "  Jansenists"  refused  to  acknowledge  the  incrim- 
inating articles  ^s  Janscrx's  and  to  condemn  them. 
Alexander    But  Alexander  VII.  reciuired  it,  and  the  crown  suj- 

vn.,Clem-  ^  '  ^ 

eut  XI.  jK^rted  him.  After  a  tem])()rary  compromise  {silc7i- 
tium  obseqiiiosuhi,  lOOS,  Clement  IX.),  Clement 
XI.  renewed  (1705)  the  sharp  bull  of  his  predecessors. 
Port  Royal  was  destroyed.  Augustinianism,  how- 
ever, received  a  still  harder  blow  by  the  constitution 

upigen-     '' 6>/r/e?i«Y;;,6'''  of  Clemem  XL  (i:i3).     In  this   101 

it/US* 

articles  from  a  devotional  work  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment by  Paschasius  Quesr.el,  which  the  Jesuits  had 
extracted,  were  proscribed.  Among  them  ^vere  not 
only  many  pure  Augustinian,  but  also  Pauline  ideas 
("  Nidlae  daniav  (jratiae  nisi  per  fidem''^ — ^^  fides  est 
prima  gratia  et  fans  oinniuin  aharum^^ — ''^ prima 
(J  rat  it,  qiiaui  dens  concedit  pwecatori,  est  pecca- 
torum  remissio^^ — "jjeccator  non  est  liber  nisi  ad 
malum  sine  gratia  liberatoris''\  etc.) .  Again  a  storm 
oppositiou  arose  in  France.     Thos?  receiving  and  those  opposing 

iu  France 

^/i"^        the  bull  were  arrayed  against  each  othev.     But  as 

Nether-  •'  ^ 

lands.  ^^,^^.  •  j^  Catholicism — the  one  finally  surrendered  with 
a  sullied  conscience,  the  other  went  under  in  ecstasy 
and  fanaticism.  Only  in  the  Netherlands  had  there 
arisen,  through  the  Jausenian  contest,  a  schismatic 
old  Cath')lic  Church.  The  bull  TTnigenitus,  con- 
firmed by  several  popes,  is  the  victory  of  Jesuitical 


P. 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   C>F  HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    525 


i  b(v^^'. 


dogmatics  over  Augustinian,  and  hence  is  the  final 
word  of  the  Catholic  history  of  dogma  (in  the  sense 
of  a  doctrino  of  faith).  As  in  the  lltth  century  the 
last  remnant  of  Gallicanism  has  been  destroyed,  so 
also  has  that  of  Jansenism,  or  the  "after-mysticism", 
which  was  necessaril}'  evolved  out  of  Augustinianism 
and  quietism  and  is  assuredly  a  peril  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  The  proclamation  <  I  the  immaculate  con- 
ception of  the  virgin  iVIary  by  Pius  IX.  marks  the 
conclusion.  As  in  a  formal  way  (see  sub  1)  it  marks 
the  definite  exaltation  of  the  pa})acy,  so  in  a  material 
way  it  marks  the  expulsion  of  Augustinianism. 
The  indestructible  imi)ulse  toward  inwardness,  con- 
templativeness  and  Christian  independence  Jesuitical 
Catholicism  now  employed  with  sensuous  media  of 
every  kind,  with  toys  and  mirjicles,  witli  fraternities, 
disciplinary  exercises  and  scheduled  prayers,  and 
thereby  kept  it  harnessed  to  the  Church. 

(3)  Already  in  the  ^Middle  Ages  had  the  juristic- 
casuistic  spirit  of  the  Kumish  Church  perniciously 
influenced  the  confessional,  ethics  and  dogmatics. 
The  nominalistic  theology  had  one  of  its  strong  roots 
in  this  juristic  casuistry  {i.e.  in  jn'ohabil/ffj).  The 
Jesuits  took  it  up  and  in  a  manner  cultivated  it, — 
this,  which  several  times  had  jeopardized  the  pope 
himself  and  even  tlie  members  of  their  own  order 
(Dollinger  and  Reuscli,  Gesch.  der  Moralstreitigk. 
seit  d.  in.  Jahrh.  18,^!)),  The  Dominican  Bartholo- 
maus  de  Medina  was  the  first  t(^  expound  "probabil- 
ity" "  scientifically"  ( 1  oTi) .     The  formula  runs  thus : 


DiiKiiia  of 

IlllIIIJlOU- 

latt'  Con- 
ception. 


Jesuitical 
Casuistry. 


|[ 


I   ' 


Proba- 
bility Dom- 
inates. 


520       OUTLINES  OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

"Si  est  opinio  prohahilis,  licitum  est  earn  scqui, 
licet  opposita  sit  p)rohabiliof\  Seldom  haw  a  word 
so  sot  things  on  fire.  It  was  the  freeing  of  morality 
from  morality,  of  religion  from  religion.  Already 
abont  IGOO  probability  was  evidenced  as  the  domi- 
nating view,  but  was  especially  cultivated  by  the 
Jesuits.  Within  the  realm  of  faith  it  exhibited 
itself,  (1)  As  laxity  (in  respect  of  the  granting  of 
absolution) ,  (2)  As  attritionism  (fear  of  punishment). 
A  great  array  of  sub-species  was  deduced :  Lax,  pure, 
and  rigijrous  probability,  aequi -probability,  greater 
probability,  lax  and  stringent  prudence.  The  differ- 
ences among  the  first  six  are  fundamentally  very 
slight;  the  last — which  alone  is  ethical — was  ex- 
pressly rejected  by  Alexander  VIII.  in  1(590.  The 
Doctrine  is  wliolc   svstem   is   Talmudic  I    very  likely  from  the 

Talmud  ic.  ''  t  j  j 

Middle  Ages  on  there  has  been  an  actual  connec- 
tion between  the  two.  Jansenism,  above  all  Pascal, 
rose  in  opposition  to  the  destruction  of  morality.  It 
brought  it  to  pass  that  "  probabilism"  was  repressed 
after  the  middle  of  the  17th  century.  Several  popes 
forbade  the  laxest  moral-theological  books ;  Innocent 
XI.  condemned,  in  IHTO,  05  articles  of  the"proba- 
bilists",  among  which  were  true  knavish  tricks  (see 
Denzinger,  Enchiridion,  pp.  213  seq.  217,  218  seq.). 
The  worse  seemed  to  be  warded  off  at  the  time 
when,  in  the  Jesuit  order  itself,  Tliyrsus  Gonzales 
again  revived  the  doctrine  (in  1 087  ho  became  the  gen- 
oral).  Still  Jansenism  and  anti-])rob{ibilism  were 
blended.     As  the  former  fell   the  latter  was  neces- 


Thyrsus 
Gouzales. 


THKEE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    52T 


no'? 


aomi- 


sarily  weakened.  The  popes  h?d  as  regards  "attri- 
tionism"  also  reduced  it  to  a  mere  neutrality.  Out  of 
this  fountain  probabilism  burst  forth  anew  in  the 
18th century.  The  founder  of  the  "order  of  redemp- 
tionists",  Alphons  Lipruori  (beatified  ISIG,  canonized  Aipimns 
1831),  doctor  of  the  Church  1871),  became  through  his 
books  the  most  influential  teacher  in  the  Church. 
He  succeeded  in  modern  Catholicism  to  the  jduce 
once  occupied  by  Augustine.  He  was,  however, 
an  aequi-probabilist,  i.e.  probabilist,  and  no  Pascal 
came  forth  any  more. 


3.   The  Vatican  Decrees. 


The  Church  which  had  destroyed  episcopacy  and 
Augustinianism  within  itself  built  up  probabilism 
and  the  Church  which,  in  union  with  the  jjolitical  re- 
action and  romanticism,  had  exalted  the  pope  to 
lopdship  over  herself  and  proclaimed  him  as  the  liv- 
ing tradition  was  finally  ripe  for  the  dogma  of  the 
infallibility  of  the  pope.  The  bishops  acknowledged 
through  the  Vatican  council  (1800-70),  that  the 
primacy  is  real  and  direct,  that  the  i)oj)e  possesses 
the  potestas  ordinaria  et  immediata  im plena  et  su- 
prenia  over  the  whole  Church,  and  that  this  power  is 
episcopal  in  the  fullest  sense.  Of  this  universal  bishop 
they  confessed  on  Die  isth  of  July,  1870:  "  Docenius 
et  diri)iitus  rerelatuin  do(/ina  ■?sse  dejinimus:  Ro- 
niannm  Poutiflceni.,  qnuin  cv  cathedra  lof/idtirr  id 
estquu)n  omnium  Christianorum  pustoris  et  doc- 


Infalli- 

l)ility  of 

I'ope. 


July  IStli, 
1870. 


!t 


528       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


M 


Protest 
i'eeble. 


toris  munere  fiujens  pro  suprema  sua  apostolica 
auctoritate  doctriuaiti  de  fide  vel  moribufi  ab  iini- 
versa  ecdesia  toiendcuii  definit,  per  assistcntiani 
divinam^  ipsi  in  b.  Petro  promissani,  ea  infcdli- 
bilitate  pollere,  qua  divinus  redemptor  ecclesiam 
suam  in  definienda  doctrina  de  fide  rcl  inoribtis 
instructam  esse  voluif,  ideoqiie  eiusmodi  Romani 
pontificis  definitiones  ex  sese,  non  aufem  ex  con- 
sensu ecclesiae,  irreforniabiles  esse.  Si  quis  au- 
tem  liuic  nostrae  definitioni  contradicere,  quod 
dens  avertat ., praesumpser il .,  anathema  siV  (Fried- 
rich,  Gesch.  d.  vatic.  Concils,  3  Bde.  J 877  seq.). 
Thobisliops  wliObpoke  in  opposition  soon  submitted. 
The  number  of  those  who  refused  to  accept  the  new 
dogma  was  and  is  small  (see  Schulte,  Der  Altkatho- 
licismus,  1887)  -  The  new  doctrine  is  in  reality  the 
cap-stone  of  the  building.  Others  may  follow,  e.g. 
the  temporal  dominion  of  the  pope  as  an  article  of 
faith ;  but  it  can  have  no  effect.  The  Romish  Church 
has  revealed  itself  as  the  autocratic  dominion  of  the 
ponfifex  maxinius — the  old  Roman  empire  taking 
possession  of  the  memory  of  Jesus  Christ,  founded 
upon  his  word  and  sacraments,  exercising  accord- 
ing to  need  an  elastic  or  iron  dogmatic  legal  disci- 
pline, encompassing  purgatory  and  heaven  in  ad- 
dition to  the  earth. 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    529 


ism. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  ISSUING   OF   THE   DOGMA  IN  ANTI-TRINITARIAN- 
ISM   AND   SOCINIANISM. 

1.  Historical  Introduction. 

Erbkam,  Gesch.  d.  protest.  Secten,  1848.  Carriere,  die 
philos.  Weltanschauung  d.  Ref-Zt.  3.  Aufl.,  1887.  Trechsel, 
die  protest.  Antitrinitarior,  3  Bde. ,  1839  f . 

SozziNi  was  an  epigone  like  Calvin.  So  inianism,  ^odnian. 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  history  of  the 
Church  and  of  dogma,  had  for  its  presuppositions  the 
great  anti-ecclesii^stical  agitations  of  the  Middle 
Ages ;  but  the  Reformation  also  influenced  it.  It 
was  evolved  out  of  these  agitations;  it  explained 
them  and  reduced  them  to  a  unity.  A  Scotistic- 
Pelagian  element  and  a  critico-humanistic  are  blend- 
ed in  it;  besides  one  perceives  also  an  anabaptis- 
tic  element  (pantheistic,  enthusiastic,  mystic,  social- 
istic elements  are  wanting) .  In  it  the  critical  and 
rationalistic  thought  of  the  ecclesiastical  theologians 
of  the  l-4th  and  15tli  centuries  also  have  a  freer  de- 
velopment ;  at  the  same  time,  however,  it  is  also  the 
result  of  the  impulses  of  the  new  age  (renaissance). 
The  characteristic  thing  in  the  anti-trinitarian  and 
Socinian  agitations  of  the  IGth  century  is  that  they 
repres'^nt  the  very  same  destruction  of  Catholicism, 
which  it  were  possible  to  effect  upon  the  ba.sis  of  the 
results  of  scholasticism  and  the  renaissance,  without 

ever  deepening  and  reviving  rcliijion.     In  this  sense 
34 


Scotiatic, 
PelaKian, 
Critical 
and  Hu- 
manistic 
Elements. 


530      OUTLINES   OP   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


M 


\\..i 


Scholasti- 
cism and 
lienais- 
sance 
Blended. 


Anti-Trini- 
tarian  and 
Anabaptist 
Groups. 


Schwenk- 
feld,  Gior- 
dano 
Bruno. 


is  Socinianism  also  an  issue  of  the  history  of  dogma. 
Therein  the  middle  age  and  the  modern  strike  hands 
across  the  Reformation.  The  apparently  unrecon- 
cilable,  the  union  of  scholasticism  and  the  renais- 
sance, is  here  actually  accomplished.  On  that  very 
account  there  is  also  not  wanting  therein  a  prophetic- 
al element.  In  these  agitations  a  great  deal  was 
anticipated  with  marvellous  certainty  which  in  the 
evangelical  Churches,  following  transient  articles, 
seems  entirely  suppressed,  since  in  them  the  interest 
in  I'eli (J ion  nndev  n  concheiovm.  absorbed  everything 
for  the  space  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Anti- 
trinitarianismand  Socinianism  are  more  enlightened 
and  free  (aufgeklilrt)  tliaii  ecclesiastical  Protest- 
antism, but  less  capable  of  development  and  poorer. 

Only  a  hasty  review  will  here  be  given.  Common 
to  all  the  anti-trinitarian  and  anabaptist  groups  of 
Churches  is  tlie  vi(jlent  break  with  history,  the  re- 
nunciation of  the  Church  as  it  then  existed  and  the 
conviction  of  the  right  of  the  individual.  From  the 
most  diverse  starting-points  they  not  seldom  arrive 
at  the  same  results,  since  the  spirit  which  animated 
them  has  been  the  same.  The  first  group  allied 
itself  with  the  pantheistic  mysticism  and  the  new 
creation  of  the  renaissance :  Not  notions  but  facts, 
not  formulas  but  life,  not  Aristotle  but  Plato,  not  the 
letter  but  the  spirit.  The  inner  light  was  placed 
alongside  the  Bible,  free  conviction  above  the  formal 
statement.  The  Church  dogmas  were  either  modified 
or  allowed  to  lapse.     Freed  from  the  burden  of  the 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DO(JMA.    5'M 


siana. 


past  and  guided  by  the  Gospel,  many  swung  out  into    ^^raru'jf" 
the  free  kingdom  of  the  Spirit,  while  otheis  were    Thuuiei''/ 
caught  in  the  meshes  of  their  own  fancies.     To  these 
belong  Schwenkfeld,  V.  Woigel,  Giordano  Bruno, 
and    above    all    Sebastian    Franck    and    Theobald 
Thamer.     A  second  aroiip  that  cannot  be  overlooked   Minorites, 

...  .    .  Waldcn- 

had  its  strength  in  its  opposition  to  political  and 
sacramental  Catholicism  and  over  against  the  same 
it  carried  on  a  new  social-political  world  and  church 
sy.^tem  (apocalyptic  and  chiliastic).  Within  this  the 
enthusiastic  minorite,  Waldensian,  etc.,  churches 
continued  to  flourish.  Their  badge  was  rebaptism. 
Carried  forward  in  many  respects  by  means  of  Ref- 
ormation principles,  this  baptismal  Christianity 
played  a  very  important  role  until  the  catastrophe  at 
Miinster  and  even  afterward. 

Romance  (Italian)  group,  the  consequent  development 
of  nominalistic  scholasticism  was  carried  forward 
under  the  influence  of  humanism ;  submission  to  tho 
Church  ceased;  moralism,  interpreted  humanisti- 
cally and  in  part  evangelically,  survived.  The  old 
dogma  and  sacramentarianism  were  cast  aside;  but 
an  historical  element  was  admitted :  Return  to  the 
primitive  sources,  to  the  philological  sense,  to  re- 
spect for  the  classical  in  everything  that  is  called 
antiquity.  The  religious  motive  in  the  deepest  sense 
was  wanting  in  these  Italians;  and  thoy  did  not 
carry  the  movement  forward  to  a  national  agitation. 
This  and  the  first  group  stand  in  many  respects  in 
strong  contrast,  in  so  far  as  the  former  did  liomage 


In,    a    fllircL  really  a    Italian  Hu- 
manists. 


632       OUTLINES  OP^   THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


Ii     >  '/, 


f : : 


Michael 
Servetus. 


Attitude 

Toward 

Catholic 

Authority 

and 

Trinity, 


Bible 
Made 
Founda- 
tion. 


to  speculative  mysticism  ;iiul  the  latter  to  rational 
thought.  Still  the  Inmiaiiistic  interests  not  only 
united  them  by  a  conmion  bond,  but  out  of  the  specu- 
lative mysticism  a  pure  mode  of  thought  was  devel- 
oped through  experience,  upon  which  slresswas  laid; 
and,  on  t'>:o  other  hand,  tho^viip  f  ,L  I  alian  ^iiink- 
ers  under  the  influence  of  th(  n  v.,  v  i  ,  ^tripped  off  the 
crudities  of  that  fanciful  mythv.logy  *  ^  which  the 
earlier  nominalism  had  paraded.  This  combination 
is  most  significantly  represented  by  the  Spaniard, 
Michael  Servetus.  In  his  theology  is  united  the 
best  of  all  that  came  to  maturity  in  the  1  Oth  century, 
if  one  speaks  only  of  that  which  lay  outside  of  the 
evangelical  Reformation. 

With  reference  to  all  these  groups  the  history  of 
dogma  should  keep  two  main  points  in  view :  Their 
relation,  (1)  To  the  formal  authorities  of  Catholicism, 
(2)  To  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity  and  Christology. 
Concerning  the  first  point  they  did  away  with  the 
authority  of  the  Church,  the  present  and  the  future, 
as  a  teacher  and  a  judge.  The  attitude  toward  the 
Scriptures  remained  obscure.  Men  plaj^ed  them  off 
against  tradition  and  stood  with  unheard-of  steadfast- 
ness by  the  letter;  on  the  other  hand,  the  authorit}'  of 
the  Scriptures  was  derived  from  that  of  the  inner  reve- 
lation, yes,  they  were  also  wholly  set  aside.  Still  as 
a  rule  their  unique  value  remained  imsliaken ;  Socin- 
ianism  planted  itself  firmly  upon  the  Scriptures. 
Against  these  rocks  also  the  Reformers  of  the  IGth 
century — certain    remarkable     men    excepted    v/ho 


I 


r 


f 


lal 


' 


ff 


THREE-FOLD    ISSUING    OF   HISTORY    OF   nO(;MA.    533 

really  irdcrstood  what  tlio  frct'doin  of  a  Christian 
man  is  lid  not  d-iro  to  p:oi  seriously  jostled.  The 
contradi'  tif>n  in  which  Protestantism  had  bocomo 
involve'  is  f  iind,  it  is  true,  in  mo«t  of  the  Re- 
formeio:  A  comprehensive  collection  of  Scriptures 
set  up  as  an  dbsc/iute  norm,  but  the  right  understand- 
ing of  the  same  left  t(j  the  painful  efforts  of  each  in- 
dividual.— As  rej'ards  anti-trinitarianism  the  devel-  Anti-Trini- 

"  tarianism. 

opment  was  ctirried  forward  in  all  four  groups,  but 
in  different  ways.  In  the  first  group  it  was  not 
aggressive,  but  latitudinarian  (as  with  the  earlier 
mystics  who  also  indeed  recognized  only  "  modi"  in 
the  trinity,  considered  the  incarnation  as  a  special 
instance  and  saw  in  the  dogma  in  any  event  only 
veiled  truth).  In  the  second,  anabaptist  group 
anti-trinitarianism  is  as  a  rule  a  relatively  subordi- 
nate element,  although  it  is  perhaps  nowhere  entirely 
wanting.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  found  in  the  impor- 
tant reformer  Denck,  on  the  other  hand  it  is  clearer 
in  Hatzer,  plainer  still  in  Campanus,  D.  Joris  and 
Melchior  Hoffmann,  who  moreover  all  constructed 
their  owti  doctrine  of  the  trinity.  The  doctrine  of 
the  trinity  was  in  reality  grappled  with  at  its  root, 
i.e.  at  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  only  by  the  Italians 
(Pietro  Menelfi),  that  is  to  say,  within  the  third 
group.  The  union  of  hiunanism  and  the  nominal- 
istic-Pelagian  theological  deposit  produced  in  Italy 
as  a  real  fact'jr  in  the  historical  movement  an  anti- 
trinitarianism  in  the  sense  of  adoptionism  or  Arian- 
ism.     The  setting  aside  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Di- 


Ana- 
baptists. 


i 


534        OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 


Calvin. 


Divinity  of  viiiiU'  of  CliHst  and  of  tlio  trinity  was  considered 
H«<,i.'Lt«d.  ]i(^m  as  the  most  important  purification  and  emanci- 
pation of  religion.  In  its  place  stepped  the  created 
Christ  and  the  one  God:  in  support  of  the  same, 
Scripture  proofs  were  sought  for  and  found  (cf.  the 
Roman  Theodotians  of  antiquity).  A  whole  herd  of 
learned  and  for  the  most  part  very  respectable  anti- 
trinitarians  drove  Italy  in  the  middle  of  the  10th 
century  beyond  its  own  bounds:  Camillo  Renato, 
BlandratM,  GentiliH,  Occhino,  the  two  Sozzini,  etc. 
In  Switzerland  the  contest  about  the  right  of  anti- 
trinitarianism  in  the  evangelical  churches  was 
fought  out.  Calvin  decided  against  it  and  burnt 
Servetus.  In  Poland  and  Transylvania  the  doctrine 
found  freedom.  There  anti-trinitarian  churches  arose, 
indeed  in  Transylvania  it  was  permitted  to  Blan- 
drata  to  secure  for  his  confession  a  formal  recogni- 
tion. Within  this  anarchy  freedom  of  conscience 
Unitarian-  also  found  a  placc  of  abode.  Unitarianism,  as  Blan- 
drata  taught  it,  saw  in  Christ  a  man  chosen  by  God 
and  exalted  to  God.  A  split  soon  made  its  appear- 
ance. The  left  wing  rejected  the  miraculous  birth 
also  and  the  worship  of  Jesus  (non-adorationism) . 
Its  chief  champion  was  Franz  Davidis.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  counteracting  this  tendency,  Fausto  Sozzini 
(Socinius)  went  m  1578  to  Transylvania  and  actually 
suppressed  it.  There  and  in  Poland  he  constructed 
out  of  the  anabaptist,  socialistic,  chiliastic,  liber- 
tinistic  and  non-adoration  congregations  a  church 
upon  the  basis  of  a  comprehensive  Biblical  dogmatics. 


ism. 


Fausto 
Sozzini. 


THRKK-FOLD    IHSUlN(i    OK    HISTOKV    OK    IKKJMA.    i)'.]5 

After  u  history  rich  in  dramatic  ('i)is(Hlcs  Poland 
unitarianism  in  union  with  Nctherland  Armenian- 
ism  found  in  England  and  America  an  ahode  and 
brought  forth  remarkable  men.  Nevertheless  it  was 
inspired  there  more  and  more  by  the  evangelical 
spirit. 

2.   'Ill a  Socinidu  Doctrine. 
Fock,  (l(>r  Socinianismus,  1847. 

Socinian  Christianity  is  seen  best  in  the  Racovian  ^Racovian 
Catechism    (loOK).     Religion    is   the   complete   and 
correct  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation.     This 
is  to  be  obtained  from  the  Holy  Scriptures   as  an 
outer,  statutory  revelation,  more  particularly  from 
the  New  Testament.     The  Christian  religion  is  the 
fheologu  of  the  Neir   Testament^  but  it  is  at  the 
same  time  a  rational  rcliijion.     The  Boole  and  the 
reason  are  the  stamina   of  the   Socinian  doctrine. 
Hence  the  proof  of  the  eertitudo  saerariun  litter- 
arum  is  a   i)rincipal   problem   of   this   supernatural    s»ppraat- 
rationalism.     It  succeeds  to  the  place  formerly  occu-    tionaiism. 
pied  by  the  proof  from  tradition.     The  claims  of  the 
New  Testament  (the  Old  Testament  was  only  passed 
along)  should  be  demonstrated  to  the  reason,  not  to 
piety.     The  New  Testament  however  is  sufficient,    g^Qdai^ 
since  faith  which  works  through  love  is  comprised 
"qjiaiituni  sat is'^  \yit\nn  it.     This  faith  however  is 
faith  in  the  existence  of  God  and  in  his  rewards  (cf. 
nominalism)  ;  love  is  the  moral  law.     The  Scriptures 
however  are  also  plain,  if  one  considers  them  with 


i^ 


li  .      A' 
It  ,.    ■  '..« 


I) 


01(1 
f'athollc 
Elemt'iit. 


Notitia 
Dei. 


631)        OUTI.INKS   OF   Till-:    IIISTOllY    OK    IXHJMA. 

tlio  undcrstaiKliii^  ("  HtKinc  nint  sticnts  I iHi-nis 
sajjlcvri'  (til  .sdluletn  (Itcitnns,  rcctani  rdfinncm  iiou 
taiituni  non  excludunuti,  .scd  ( mini  no  includiniiis'^). 
Tho  way  of  salvation  man  cannot  of  himself  find, 
since  he  is  mortal  (old  Catholic  element).  God's 
image  witliin  him  consists  solely  in  his  dominion 
over  the  heasts  of  the  Held.  Not  temporal,  hut  eter- 
nal death  came  into  the  world  through  sin.  Finally, 
however,  man  is  not  ahle  to  discover  the  way  of  sal- 
vation, because  he  "ex  solo  dei  arhifn'o  ac  concilio 
pependiV ;  therefore  must  it  be  given  through  an 
outer  revelation  (cf.  nominalism).  With  fear,  love 
and  trust  we  have  nothing  to  do,  but  only  with  noti- 
tia  del  and  the  law  of  the  holy  life,  which  must  have 
been  revealed.  The  notitia  dei  is  the  knowledge  of 
God  as  the  supreme  Lord  over  all  things,  who  "pro 
arhitrio  leges ponere  ei praeniia  ac poenas  statuere 
potest"  (ci.  nominalism).  The  most  important  thing 
Knowledge  is  to  apprehend  God's  unity;  hut  "  nihil  j^f'oJiihetf 
luiportant'  Quoniiuus  Hie  unus  deus  iniperium  potestatenoiiie 
cum  aliis  conimimicare  possit  et  coniniunicaveriV 
(cf .  the  old  subordinationists  and  Arians) .  The  at- 
tributes of  God  are  developed,  without  reference  to 
faith  in  salvation,  out  of  the  conception  of  the  "  su- 
pi^enius  doniinus"  and  the  "  sunune  Justus"  (cf. 
nominalism).  Very  necessary  to  salvation,  if  not 
absolutely  necessary,  is  the  perception  of  the  value- 
lessness  of  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity.  Ante  legem 
et  per  legem  did  men  already  apprehend  the  creation 
of  the  world  through  God,  the  providence  of  God  de 


TIIKKK-FOLO    lSHl'IN(i    OK    IIISTOUV    l)F   lJ()(iMA.    537 


Notitia 
ChrlHti. 


Autiochl- 

(lUittlll. 


,s{nfjii/i.s  li'hns  ( !),  tlio  reward  and  tlio  Diviiio  will  (in 
tho  docalognc). 

Tho  notitia  Christ/  divides  itself  iuto  knowledge 
of  his  person  and  of  his  office.  In  respect  of  the 
first  it  is  concerned  with  the  perception  tiiat  Ood 
has  redeemed  ns  throngh  a  man  (cf.  the  hypothetical 
articles  of  nominalism).  C*ln*ist  was  a  mortal  man 
who  was  sanctified  hy  the  Father,  endowed  with 
Divine  wisdom  and  power,  raised  from  the  deml,  and 
finally  exalted  to  like  power  with  God.  This  is  the 
exegetical  rosnlt  of  the  New  Testament.  God  sent 
him  in  order  to  lift  men  np  into  a  new  state,  i.e.  to 
exalt  the  mortal  nnto  inunortality  (early  Church  idea; 
cf.  especially  the  Antiochians).  This  was  an  arhi- 
trary  decree  of  Gufl,  and  the  bringing  of  the  same 
to  pass  (miraculous  birth,  resurrection)  was  quite  as 
arbitrary.  Christ  as  n  prophet  completed  the  trans- 
mission of  the  perfect  Divine  law  (explaining  and 
deepening  of  the  decalogue),  declaring  with  certainty 
the  promise  of  eternal  life  and  verifying  b}'  his  death 
the  example  of  a  perfect  moral  life,  after  that  he  had 
complied  with  certain  sacramental  ordinances  By 
his  preaching  he  gjjve  a  strong  impulse  toward  the 
observance  of  the  Di  ino  will  and  at  the  same  time 
established  the  general  purpose  of  God  to  forgive  the 
sins  of  the  penitent  .and  of  those  striving  to  live 

more  uprightly  (cf.  nominalism).     Inasmuch  as  no    Nominal- 
ism. 

one  can  perfectly  keep  the  Divine  law,  justification 
comes,  not  through  works,  but  through  faith.  This 
faith,  however,  is  trust  in  the  T^aw-giviT,  who  has 


(  , 


;■  ■•■/ 


\ 


Valuable 
Eleiiicnts 


538       OUTLINES  OF   TFE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

set  beforo  us  h  glorious  end,  eternal  life,  ixnd  lias 
awakened  through  the  Holy  Spirit  the  future  cer- 
tainty of  this  life;  furthermore,  it  is  reliance  on 
Christ,  who,  clothed  with  Divine  power,  truly  frees 
tliose  from  sin  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  lu  par- 
ticular is  noteworthy  •  (I)  The  refined,  in  many  re- 
spects, excellent  criticism  of  ecclesiastical  Christology 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  reason 
— the  Scripture  statements  in  regard  to  the  pre- 
existence  of  Christ  raised,  it  is  true,  some  difficulties 
— ,  (2)  The  attempt  to  set  forth  the  work  of  Christ  iu 
accordance  with  the  scheme  of  the  three  offices,  and 
the  acknowledged  inahili  ty  to  extend  it  beyond  his 
prophetical  office.  Within  the  limits  of  the  latter 
everything  was  in  reality  handled:  "  Coiuprehendit 
turn  praecexita,  turn,  promissa  dei  perfecta,  turn 
denique  modem  ac  rationem^  qui  nos  et p)raeceptis 
et  promissionibus  dei  confirmare  debeamus'\  Be- 
yond this,  however,  Socinianism  knew  nothing.  The 
T^aecepta.  " prciecepta''^  are  the  interpreted  decalogue,  with  the 
addition  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  the  special  com- 
mandments of  the  sure  and  steadfast  peace  in  God 
through  prayer,  praise  and  reliance  on  God's  help, 
abstinence  from  love  of  the  world  as  well  as  self- 
denial  and  patience.  Thereto  are  to  be  added  the 
special  ceremonial  commands,  viz.  :  Baj^tism  and  the 
Lord's  Su}'^)er.  The  former  is  confession,  duty  and 
symbol ,  the  forgiveness  of  sin  was  also  thought  of 
for  the  sake  of  the  Scriptures  in  a  disgraceful  man- 
ner, and  infant  baptisiu  was  discarded,  yet  endured 


BajiMsm 

'lucl  Lord's 

S'"pper. 


i 


THREE-FOLD    ISSCINCi    OF    PIISTOliY    OF    DOGiMA.    539 


I 


I      3 


(because  it  has  to  do  with  a  ceremony).  The  Lord's 
Supper,  by  the  hiyiiig  aside  of  all  other  views,  was 
conceived  of  as  an  ordained  memorial  meal.  The 
promissa  del  are  the  promise  of  eternal  life  and  of    rromissa 

^  ^  Del. 

the  Holy  Spirit.  In  setting  forth  this  last  Socin- 
ianisra  did  great  service,  contra'";";-wise  it  gave  to  the 
forgiv^eness  of  sin  an  ambiguous  meaning.  In  opposi- 
tion to  the  evangelical  view  it  taught :  "  In  vita  acfer- 
na  simnl  conipreliensa  est  peccatorum  veinissi(i\ 
This  eternal  life  was  only  very  superiicially  described, 
and  the  fundamental  Catholic  thought  in  Socinianism 
crops  out  in  the  article  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
granted  only  in  proportion  to  moral  progress.  To  the 
question  as  to  how  Christ  has  effectually  guaranteed 
the  commands  and  the  promises,  it  was  replied  ;  (1) 
Through  his  sinlessness,  (2)  Through  liis  miracles,  (3) 
Tb rough  his  death.  The  latter  was  considered  as  a 
proof  of  his  love,  and  then  in  an  extended  manner 
the  satisfaction-theory  was  contested.  Herein  lies 
the  strength  of  Socinianism.  Although  one  cannot 
accept  a  great  many  of  its  arguments,  because  they 
are  founded  upon  the  Scotistic  idea  of  God,  yet  one 
must  acknowledge  tliat  the  juristic  satisfaction- 
theory  is  here  really  answered.  The  thought  of  the 
merit  of  Christ  is  retained.  But  how  meagre  is  it  when 
the  catechism,  once  more  reverting  to  faith,  explains : 
^^ Fides  ohedientiain  nostrdtn  dco  coiiinieiiddtioreni 
gvatioremque  facit  et  ohedieutiae  defectiis,  mndo 
ea  sit  vera  ac  seria,  siipplet,  uttpie  a  dcit  justiji- 
oemur  ejjicit''\     This  is  in  complete  contrast  with 


Christ's 
Sinlt'ss- 

I1C>SS, 

Minu'lt'S. 
Death, 


Doctriric  of 
Faith. 


540        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA. 


l'ri('st)iof)(l 
of  Clirist. 


Doctrine  of 
Church. 


Sociuian- 

ism 

Disst)lves 

Dogma. 


ovau^elical  ideas  coiicorDiiig  faith.  That  which  is 
afterward  said  aljoiit  justification  is  a  worthless 
accommodation  of  Pauline  ideas.  Accommodations 
are,  in  general,  not  infrequent. — In  connection  with 
the  priestly  office  of  Christ  the  poiiianeiit  priesthood 
of  Christ  is  emphasized,  while  that  which  transpired 
once  is  fundamentally  discarded.  Christ's  dominion 
over  all  beings  and  things  is  very  briefly  touched 
upon. 

At  the  close  the  catechism  reverts  to  the  Church 
and  defines  it  once  more  as  a  school :  "  Coeius  eorum 
Jiomitiftm,  qui  doctrinam  salutarem  tenent  et  pro- 
Jitentur.^''  Pastors  (doctors)  and  deacons  are  neces- 
sary to  the  Church ;  but  nothing  is  said  about  ordina- 
tion, and  the  episcopal  succession  is  contested.  The 
reflections  on  the  visible  and  invisible  Church  are 
indefinite  and  unclear. 


In  Socinianism  the  dissolution  of  dogma  is  exem- 
plified ui)on  Catholic  soil,  as  in  Romanism  the  neu- 
tralization. In  the  place  of  tradition  the  external  rev- 
elation in  the  Bible  steps  in.  Religion,  in  so  far  as 
it  is  apprehensible,  is  swallowed  up  in  moralism. 
Still  there  remain  fortunate  inconsistencies  and 
Socinianism  presents,  even  apart  from  these,  a  pleas- 
ing side :  (1)  It  had  the  courage  to  simplify  the  (jues- 
tioiis  concerning  the  reality  and  content  of  religion 
and  to  discard  the  burden  of  the  ecclesiastical  past, 
(2)  It  broke  the  contracted  bond  between  religion  and 


I 


THKEE-FOLI)   ISSUING    OF    HISTORY    OF   TXXJMA.    541 

science,  between  Christianity  and  Platonism,  {'■])  It 
helped  to  spread  the  idea  that  the  religious  state- 
ment of  truth  must  be  clear  and  apprehensible,  if  it 
is  to  have  power,  (4)  It  tried  to  free  the  study  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  from  bondage  to  the  old  dogmas. 


CHAPTER   TV. 


I 

I 

i 


THE    ISSUING   OF   THE    DOGMA    IN    PROTESTANTISM. 

1.  lilt rochicf ion. 

POST-TRIDENTINE  Catholicism  and  Socinianism  are 
in  many  respects  modern  phenomena,  but  as  regards 
their  religious  kernel  they  are  not  modern,  but  much 
rather  the  consequences  of  media) val  Chri.Jianity. 
The  Reformation  as  represented  in  the  Christianity 
of  Luther  is  still  in  many  respects  an  old  Catholic 
I)henomenon,  not  to  say  also  a  mediiVVcd;  yet  judged 
by  its  religious  kernel,  it  is  neither,  but  nuich  rather 
a  restoration  of  Pauline  Christianity  in  the  spirit  of 
a  new  age.  On  this  account  it  happens  that  the 
Reformation  cannot  be  judged  sold}'  by  the  results 
which  it  gained  during  the  first  two  generations  of 
its  existence;  for  it  did  not  begin  <.s  a  harmonious 
and  consistent  manifestation.  Luther's  Christianity 
was  the  Reformation;  within  the  periphery  of  his  ex- 
istence, however,  Luth(>r  Avas  an  old  Catholic-mediiev- 
al  phenomenon.  The  period  from  \')\U  to  l.*)"2:>,  the 
most  beautiful  years  of  thc^  Reformation  when  it  stood 
in  living  n4ations  with  all  men  and  seemed  to  intro- 


Roforma- 
tioi;  Kesto- 

rutioii  of 
riuilinism. 


Lutl\('r"s 
Christian- 
ity tlif 
Reforma- 
tion. 


■'    i 


I   ;; 


v. 


Luthor's 
Message. 


Restorps 

Gospel 

Religion. 


Revivifies 

Catholic 

Dogmas. 


542       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA, 

duce  a  new  order  of  things,  was  only  an  episode. 
Luther  soon  drew  hack  again  within  his  Hmitations. 
These  were  not,  however,  a  mere  thin  shell,  so  that 
Melanchthon  and  the  epigonoi  could  have  forgiven 
the  shrinkage;  but  Luther  realized  that  they  were 
bound  uj)  with  the  very  sinews  of  his  power  and  he 
asserted  them  with  this  understanding. 

Ijuther's  greatness  consists  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  which  he  re-discovered  in  the  Gospel.  Living 
faith  in  God  who  in  Christ  says  to  the  poor  soul : 
"  Sal  as  tua  Cf/o  ,snni''\  the  certain  assurance  that 
God  is  the  being  upon  whom  man  may  absolutely 
rely — that  was  Luther's  message  to  Christendom. 
He  restored  the  religious  view  of  the  Gospel,  the 
sovereign  right  of  religion  in  religion,  the  sovereign 
worth  of  the  historical  Person  Jesus  Christ  in 
Christianity.  In  doing  this  he  went  back  bej'ond 
the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  old  Catholic 
times  to  the  New  Testament,  yes,  to  the  Gospel 
itself.  But  the  very  man  wlio  freed  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  from  ecclesiasticism  and  moralism 
strengthened  the  force  of  the  latter  under  the  forms 
of  the  old  Catholic  theology,  yes,  he  gave  to  these 
forms,  which  for  centuries  had  lain  dor  nan t, 
once  again  a  value  and  a  meaning.  Ho  was  the 
restorer  .  ■i;  ^"he  old  dogmas  and  he  ga  v^e  tncm  back  to 
faith.  One  ir  i  ^'  credit  it  to  him  that  these  formulas 
are  even  uvtil  t^-d  \y  v,  living  po^'^er  in  the  faith  of 
Protcstau !';!"»  .  '^'''wW^'  in  the  Ciitholic  Churches  they 
are  a  dead  7e:'  ..lif.     (Jur;  will  i!  j  justice  to  the  ^^  en- 


f> 
I 

f 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DO(iMA.    54'') 


M 


fire  Luther^''  only  by  allowing  his  two-f-nJ  relation 
to  the  old  CatlKjlic  theology  to  stand  iml  ly  tiy- 
ing  to  explain  it.  Luther  turned  his  conten^)orarii'S 
aside  from  the  path  of  the  humanistic,  Franciscan 
and  political  Christianity  and  compelled  thorn  to  in- 
terest themselves  in  that  which  was  most  foreign  to 
them — tJie  Gospel  and  ihe  old  tJieoJor/i/.  He  pro- 
claimed the  Gospel  anew  and  was  able  to  defend  the 
"  Q}(tcinique  vult  sdlcus  esse"  of  the  Athanasian 
creed  with  a  full  voice. 

In  order  to  understand  his  attitude,  one  may  reA^r  contests 
to  the  following:  (1)  The  difficuUies  about  which  i^o^'trines. 
there  was  a  contest  flowed  especially  from  mediirval 
theology,  and  Luther's  historical  horizon  shut  down 
about  the  time  «)f  the  origin  ot  the  pajjal  Church; 
that  ^^dlich  lay  back  of  tliis  was  blended  for  him  at 
many  points  with  the  golden  horizon  of  the  Nem 
Testament^  {'I)  Luther  never  contended  against  er- 
roneous theories  and  doctrines  os  siicJi,  but  old} 
against  those  theories  and  doctrines  which  plainly 
vitiated  the 2)iirif as  ecaufjclii;  in  him  there  did  not 
dwell  the  irresistible  impulse  of  the  thinker  who 
strives  after  theoretical  clearness;  much  rather  did 
he  have  an  instinctive  dislike  and  an  inborn  distrust 
of  that  spirit  which,  guid(Hl  solely  by  knowledge, 
shrewdly  corrects  errors;  he  also  b}- no  means  pos- 
sessed all  the  endowments  and  critical  facilities  of 
the  age — ^' sfibJinieiiicn/  borne,  (/((uelirii/oi/  saratif, 
ferriblement  naif",  this  hero  has  been  called  by  one  a.  .  '>ts 
who  knows  men,  (;5)  The  old  dogma  corresponded  to     Dogmas. 


Contonda 

for  Puritas 

Evangelii. 


\^ 


Aims  at, 

Roforniii- 

tion  Only. 


Results  of 

his 

Labors. 


514        OUTLINES   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

the  new  conception  of  the  Gospel  which  he  preached ; 
he  wanted  tlie  correct  faitJi  and  nothing  else;  the 
ancient  dogma,  however,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
mediccval,  represented  Christianity  not  as  a  conflu- 
ence of  faith  and  works  (the  latter  did  not  belong  to 
the  dof/iiia),  of  grace  and  merit,  but  rather  as  the  act 
of  God  throiujh  JesN.s  Christ  unto  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  and  eternal  life.  Luther  san^  onlij  this 
element  in  the  old  dogma  ;  he  overlooked  all  else. 
Hence  he  conceived  his  mission  as  that  of  a  reformer : 
It  is  necessary  only  to  place  upon  the  lamp-stand 
that  which  the  Church  already  possesses,  l)ut  has  lost 
sight  of  among  its  other  possessions;  it  is  neces- 
sary to  restore  the  Gospel  of  the  free  grace  of  God 
in  Christ  by  a  rehabilitation  of  the  ancient  dogma. 

Was  he  really  right?  Did  his  new  conception 
of  the  G()S])el  fall  in  naturally  with  the  ancient 
dogma?  Men  insist  upon  this  even  today, — it 
is  true  with  more  or  less  uncertainty  and  with  the 
qualification,  that  Luther  added  an  imi)ortant  ele- 
ment, viz.,  the  doctrine  of  justificati(jn.  But  did  he 
not  do  away  with  the  infallible  Church  tradition, 
with  the  infallible  Church  office,  with  the  infallible 
canon  of  Scripture?  And  must  his  conception  of 
the  Gospel  be  still  clothed  with  the  old  dogma? 
Wherein  consists  that  conception?  How  far  did  his 
criticism  of  tradition  go?  What  did  he  retain? 
Was  his  attitude  altogether  consistent,  or  is  the 
present  state  of  Protestantism,  which  is  so  full  of  in- 
consistencies and  errors,  to  be  traced  back  to  him? 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    545 


?Iied ; 
the 
o  the 
Dnflu- 
ng  to 
e  act 
ness 
this 
else, 
mer: 
itajtid 
3  lost 
eces- 
God 


2.  Lnther\s  Christianity. 

Luther's Theoloji:iG  von  Kostliu,  Th.  Harnack,  Lommatzsch. 
Herrmann,  cler  Verkehr  des  Christen  niit  Gott,  18S6.  Rit.schl, 
Rechtfertigung  u.  Versohuung,  Bd.  I.  u.  III.  KattenliUKcl), 
TiUther's  SteHuug  zu  den  okunienisclicn  Symholen,  18H3. 
Gottschick,  Luther'8  Anschauung  von  christl.  Gottesdien.st, 
1887.  Zur  alt[)rot('st.  Rechfert. — Lehre,  cf.  Loofs  undEichhorn 
i.  d.  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1884  u.  1887. 

In  the  cloister  Luther  thought  ho  was  fighting 
with  himself  and  his  sins;  but  in  reality  he  was 
wrestling  with  the  religion  of  his  Church.  In  the 
system  of  sacraments  and  observances,  to  which  ho 
subjected  himself,  ho  did  not  find  the  assurance  of 
peace  which  he  sought.  Even  that  which  shoukT 
have  given  him  consolation  revealed  itself  to  him 
as  an  object  of  terror.  In  such  distress  it  came 
to  him  slowly  and  gradually  through  the  corroded 
ecclesiastical  confession  ("I  believe  in  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins")  and  the  Holy  Scriptures,  what  the 
truth  and  power  of  the  Gospel  really  is.  Augustine's 
form  of  belief  concerning  the  first  and  last  things 
was  also  a  guiding  star  to  him.  But  how  much 
firmer  did  he  grasp  the  essence  of  the  thing !  That 
which  he  here  learned,  that  which  he  laid  hold  of 
with  all  the  strength  of  his  soul  as  the  sole  thing 
was  the  revelation  of  the  gracious  God  in  the  Gospel, 
i.e.  in  Christ.  The  same  experience  which  made 
Paul  Luther  underwent,  and  while  it  did  not  come 
to   the   latter  so  violently  and   suddoidy  as    to   the 

former,  yet  he  also  learned  through  this  experience 
35 


Luther 
Wrt'stU'S 
with  Re- 
ligion of 
his  Church. 


August  ino 

a  Guiding 

Star. 


RlinplifloR 
Religion. 


Christian 
ity  Obje.; 
vveij  is 
Christ; 
Subjective- 
ly it  is 
faith. 


54G       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA. 

that  it  is  Godivho  bestows  fait  Ji:  "Since  it  pleased 
God  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me." 

That  which  he  experienced  he  afterwards  learned 
to  express,  and  there  resulted,  when  measured 
by  the  multifarious  things  which  the  Church  prof- 
fered as  "religion",  primarily  a  stupendous  reduc- 
tion. Out  of  a  multiform  system  of  grace,  perform- 
ances, penances  and  reliances  he  extracted  religion 
and  restored  it  to  its  simple  greatness.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  is  living  faith  in  the  living  God  who 
has  revealed  himself  in  Jesus  Christ  and  laid  bare 
his  heart — nothing  else.  Objectively  it  is  Jesus 
(i'lrist,  subjectively  it  is  faith;  its  content,  however, 
is  the  grr  cious  God,  and  therefore  the  forgiveness  of 
sin  which  includes  sonship  and  blessedness.  With- 
in this  circle  the  whole  of  religion  was  enclosed  for 
Luther.  The  livi:(^^  God — not  the  philosophical  or 
mystical  abstractiori — the  revealed,  the  assured,  the 
gracious  God  apprehensible  to  every  Christian.  Un- 
wavering heart  trust  in  him  who  has  given  himself 
to  us  in  Christ  as  our  Father,  personal  confidence 
in  Christ  who  stands  by  his  work  in  our  stead — 
that  was  for  him  the  sum  total  of  religion.  Above 
all  anxiety  and  sorrow,  above  all  the  artifices  of  as- 
ceticism, above  all  prescriptions  of  theology  he  pressed 
on  to  Christ  that  he  might  lay  hold  upon  God  him- 
self, and  in  this  act  of  faith,  which  he  recognized  as 
the  work  of  God,  he  won  an  independence  and  a 
steadfastness,  yes  a  personal  assurance  and  joy,  such 
as  no  mediaeval  man  had  ever  possessed.     From  the 


1 
f 


f 


, 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING  OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    547 


} 


perception :  "  By  our  pcjwer  nothing  is  ilono",  he  drew 
the  hii'hcst  inner  freedom.  Faith — that  meant  for  /'^'*''i" 
him  now  no  longer  an  (jljedient  accei)tanco  of  ecele-  FoJiwe- 
siastical  teaching,  or  historical /(<r/a,  not  supi)osing 
and  not  doing,  not  actus  initiationts  upon  which  a 
greater  thing  follows ;  hut  the  certainty  of  the  for- 
giveness of  sin  and  therefore  personal  and  absolute 
surrender  to  God  as  the  Father  of  Jesus  Clu-ist,  which 
transforms  and  renews  the  whole  man.  Faith  is  a 
conscious  trust,  which  then  makes  man  glad  and 
joyous  toward  God  and  all  creatures,  which  as  a 
good  tree  surely  brings  forth  good  fruit,  and  which 
is  ever  ready  to  servo  and  to  suffer.  The  life  of  a 
Christian  is  in  spite  of  all  evil,  sin  and  guilt  hid  in 

God.     Because  this  certainty  animated  Luther,  he  Lnthor  Ex- 
periences 

also  experienced  the  freedom  of  a  Christian  man.  I'^rwdom, 
This  freedom  was  not  a  bare  emancipation,  or  a 
certificate  of  manumission,  but  to  him  it  was  the 
triumph  over  the  world  through  the  assurance  that 
when  God  is  for  us  no  one  can  be  against  us.  He 
next  won  for  himself  the  right  of  the  individual ;  he 
experienced  the  freedom  of  conscience.  But  a  free 
conscience  for  him  was  bound  up  with  inner  allegi- 
ance, and  the  right  of  the  individual  he  understood  as 
a  holy  obligation  to  courageously  tln'ow  oneself  upon 
God  and  to  serve  one's  neighbor  in  reality  and  in 
self -forgetful  love. 

Therewith  is  already  said  what  the  Church  was  to  J?n"'^^'•^ 
him — the   fellowship    of   believers  whom  the   Holy    Beul-ve 
Spirit  has  called  through  the  word  of  God,  enlight- 


vers. 


1 


Funda- 
mental 
Ideas  of 
Church. 


Contends 

Against 

Abuses  in 

Church. 


648       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 

ened  {uid  sanctified,  who  inure  and  more  are  to  bo 
built  up  through  thi^  Gospel  in  true  faith,  awaiting 
the  glorious  future  oi  the  children  of  God  and  so 
serving  one  another  in  love,  each  in  his  own  place. 
This  confession  concerning  the  Church  effected  an 
enormous  reduction.  It  rests  wholly  upon  the  fol- 
lowing simi)le  fundamental  thoughts:  (1)  That  the 
Holy  Spirit  founded  the  Church  through  the  word 
of  God,  (:*)  That  this  word  is  the  proclamation  of 
the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  in  so  far  as  it  awakens 
faith;  (3)  That  the  Church,  therefore,  has  no  other 
province  than  that  of  faith,  that  it  is,  however,  within 
the  same  the  mother  upon  whose  lap  man  attains 
unto  faith,  (4)  That  because  religion  is  simply  faith 
no  particular  performances  and  no  particular  prov- 
ince, be  it  now  the  open  cultus,  or  the  chosen  course 
of  life,  are  the  sphere  in  which  the  Church  and  the 
individual  can  verify  their  faith,  but  the  Christian 
in  the  natiral  ordering  of  his  life  is  to  prove  his  faith 
through  the  loving  service  of  his  fellows. 

With  these  four  sentences  Luiher  stood  over 
against  the  old  Church,  Througli  the  first  he  re- 
stored the  word  of  God  according  lo  a  sound  judg- 
ment to  the  fundamental  place  in  the  Church. 
Through  the  second  he  restored,  in  opposition  to  all 
the  theologians,  ascetics  and  sects  of  the  Middle 
Ages  and  of  the  ancient  Church,  the  Gospel  to  the 
Gospel  ixwdi  exalted  tliQ  " consohitiones  in  Christo 
propositae"  to  be  the  sole  norm.  Through  the  third 
he  reduced  very  greatly  the  idea  and  scope  of  the 


TirURE-FOlJ)   ISST'INfJ    OF   HISTORY    OF   DOGMA.    540 


w 


a 


MonaHti- 
cism. 


Church,  but  brought ///f  rA'//(7/  IxicL-  fo  Hsj'dHU. 
Through  tho  fourth,  Hn.illy,  he  restored  the  natural 
status  of  marriage,  of  the  family,  of  secular  calling 
and  of  tlio  state;  he  emancipated  these  from  the 
guardianship  of  the  Church,  but  subjected  them  to 
the  spirit  of  faith  and  of  love.  Thereby  ho  broke 
down  the  mediieval  and  ancient  ecclesiastical  concep- 
tion of  the  world  and  of  the  ordering  of  human  life, 
and  thus  transformed  the  idea  of  religi^tus  perfec- 
tion as  no  other  Christian  since  the  apostolic  age  has 
done.  In  the  ])lace  of  the  combination  of  monastic  D«;nounce8 
withdrawal  from  the  world  and  ecclesiastical  domin- 
ion over  the  world,  he  set  the  Christian  the  great 
task  of  verifying  his  faith  in  the  ordering  of  his 
natural  life :  Ho  is  to  serve  his  neighbor  in  self -forget- 
ful love  and  hallow  his  occupation.  The  righteous- 
ness of  the  natural  course  of  life  was  in  no  sense  for 
Luther  a  realized  ideal — ho  had  eschatological  pre- 
conceptions and  awaited  the  day  when  the  world 
should  pass  away  with  its  lust,  its  pain,  its  devilish- 
ness  and  its  course  of  life — but  bt-ause  he  made 
faith  so  grand  and  so  sovereign  he  sutTered  for  and 
in  religion  nothing  that  was  foreign  to  it.  A<'Cord- 
ingly  through  his  mighty  preaching  all  the  vagaries 
of  the  Middle  Ages  were  dissolved.  He  wished  to 
teach  the  world  nothing  elst.  than  what  it  signifies  ^j^^jfl^" 
to  possess  God;  yet  in  recognizing  this  most  im- 
portant realm  in  its  peculiarity,  every  thing  else  came 
to  its  true  relations,  viz. :  science,  the  family,  tho 
state,  charity,  civil  c  ailing.     In  that  he  raised  to  the 


Science, 
family, 


i 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0     ^^  I 


I.I 


125 


^   U^    12.0 


1.8 


1.25      u 

!.6 

h 6"  — 

► 

m 


<? 


c^ 


/] 


7 


> 


'^  > 


<$'^ 


^^W^^'J 


'/ 


M 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


550       OUTLINES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OP  DOGMA. 


m 


A. 


lf-4- 


1!.    iL 

\\  1 

1 


first  rank  lluit  which  l)oncath  tlio  rubbisli  of  refined 
and  coniplicatod  ideals  had  liitherto  been  least 
esteemed — humble  and  safe  reliance  upon  God's 
fatherly  provision  and  loyalty  in  one's  calling — he 
created  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

He  who  takes  his  position  here  can  hardly  per- 
suade himself  that  Luther  brought  to  the  old  "  sound" 
dogma  only  a  couple  of  new  doctrines : 

Luther's  theology  should  be  treated  in  close  counection  with 
the  above  mentioned  development  of  his  fundamental  views. 
In  theological  terminology  he  was  surprisingly  unhampered 
and  used  the  doctrinal  formulas  very  freely.  The  traditional 
theological  scheme  he  as  a  rule  treated  so  freely  that  in  each 
instance,  when  corret^tly  xmderstood,  he  discovered  the  entire 
doctrine.  This  can  bo  proven  from  his  doctrine  of  God  (God 
without  and  within  Christ),  from  his  doctrine  of  Providence 
(the  first  article,  rightly  understood,  is  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom), from  his  Christology  ("Christ  is  not  called  Christ  be- 
cause he  has  two  natures,  but  he  bears  this  glorious  and 
comforting  name  on  account  of  the  office  and  work  which  he 
took  upon  himself  ;  Christ  is  the  mirror  of  the  Father's  heart") , 
from  his  doctrin.  of  sin  (sin  is  "  to  have  no  God") ,  frofn  his 
doctrine  of  predestination  and  of  the  will's  lack  of  freedom 
(religious  experience  does  not  arise  conjointly  out  of  historical 
and  sacramental  acts,  which  God  performs,  and  subjective 
acts,  which  are  in  any  sense  man's,  but  God  alone  works  the 
willing  and  the  doing) ,  from  the  law  and  the  Gospel  (distin- 
guishing between  the  possibility  and  the  reality  of  redemp- 
tion) ,  from  his  doctrine  of  penance  (this  is  the  humility  of  faith, 
hence  the  entire  life  is  a  continuous  penance) ,  from  his  doctrine 
oi  just ijicat ion.  In  each  of  these  doctrines  Luther  expounded 
the  whole — the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ— but  he  made  himself 
most  at  home  in  the  Pauline  scheme  of  justification  ^^ propter 
ChriHtiunpcr  fideni".  The  fine-pointed  formulas  concerning 
the  Jiistitia  impntativa  and  the  scholc^tic  sundering  of  justifi- 
cation and  sanctification  (faith  and  love)  did  not  originate 
with  him  or  with  the  Melanchthon  of  the  earlier  days ;  yet  each 
of  these  men  gave  the  provocation  to  the  same.     Everywhere 


THREE-FOT.D   ISSUINfJ   OF   IITSTORY   OF   DOfJMA.    r)51 

howaHconcornod  with  (iMi'h  asHUirnicrof  salvation .  "  WIumo 
there  is  forgivenoas  <»f  sin,  there  is  also  life  and  hlesscdm-ss". 
In  this  conviction  ho  won  his  religious  indei)endeuce  and  free- 
dom as  against  everything  which  is  not  from  (rod  ;  for  inde- 
pendence and  freedom  alone  are  life.  Tlie  assurance  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  in  Christ  was  to  liini  the  sum  of  religion. 
Therefore  did  he  bring  religion  back  to  this.  But  the  positive 
side  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  was  for  him  the  sonship  through 
which  the  Christian  comes  to  a  self-sufficient  existence  as 
over  against  the  world,  needs  nothing  and  stands  neither  under 
the  slavery  of  the  law,  nor  in  dependent  ui)on  men — a  priest 
before  God  and  a  king  ovei'  the  world. 


' 


3.  Luther's  Strictures  on  the  Dominating  Ecclesi- 
astical Tradition  and  on  the  Dogma. 

Luther  always  went  from  the  centre  to  the  circum- 
ference in  his  criticism,  from  faith  to  institution, 
and  did  not  attack  doctrines  as  such,  but  doctrines 
which  obscured  or  destroyed  right  living. 

(1)  He  set  aside  the  dominating  doctrine  of  sal- 
vation as  destructive  (Apol.  IV.  init. :  "  Adversarii^ 
quum  nequequid  remissio  peccatorum,  neque  quid 
JideSy  neque  quid  gratia^  neque  quid  justitia  sit, 
intelligantj  misere  contaminant  locum  de  Justifi- 
catione  et  obscurant  gloriam  et  beneficia  Christi 
et  eripiunt  piis  conscienti is  propositus  in  Christo 
consolationes") ,  and  in  truth  showed  his  opponents 
that  their  doctrine  of  God  (sophistic  philosophy  and 
subtile  reasoning),  their  Christology  (they  speculate 
about  the  two  natures  and  do  not  know  the  beneficia 
Christi),  their  doctrine  concerning  the  truth,  right- 
eousness and  grace  of  God  (they  do  not  attain  unto 
"consolation"  and  hence  err  in  blind  reason),  their 


Rejects 

Church 

Doctrine  of 

Salvation. 


552       OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


•■■W 


%\ 

p  1 

Attacks 
Old  Catho- 
lic Idea  of 
Perfection. 


Destroys 
Catholic 
Doctrine  of 
Sacra- 
ments. 


Opposed 
Augustine. 


doctrino  of  sin  aiul  free-will  (they  are  Pelagians), 
of  justification  and  faith  (they  do  not  know  what  it 
means  to  have  a  gracious  God,  and  they  rely  upon 
merits)  and  of  good  works  were  false  and  misleading 
to  the  soul.  With  this  bill  of  particulars  Luther  en- 
countered not  only  the  scholastics,  but  also  the 
Church  fathers,  yes  Augustine  himself,  therefore 
the  whole  ancient  Catholic  Church  teaching. 

(2)  Luther  attacked  the  old  Catholic  (not  simply 
media)val)  ideal  of  perfection  and  of  blessedness. 
In  destroying  the  idea  of  a  dual  morality  to  its  very 
roots  he  put  in  the  place  of  monastic  perfection  the 
faith  which  relies  upon  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  in  the 
place  of  the  conception  of  blessedness  as  a  revelling 
in  holy  sentiment  and  in  holy  knowledge  the  comfort 
of  a  free  conscience  and  sonship  with  God. 

(3)  Luther  destroyed  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the 
sacraments,  not  simply  the  seven.  Through  the 
three  sentences :  (a)  The  sacraments  contribute  unto 
the  forgiveness  of  sin  and  nothing  else ;  (b)  Sacra- 
menta  non  implentur  duni  fiunt,  sed  diun  credun- 
tur;  (c)  They  are  a  peculiar  form  of  the  redemptive 
word  of  God  (of  the  promissio  dei)  and  therefore 
have  their  virtue  in  the  historical  Christ — he  trans- 
formed the  sacramental  elements  into  sacramental 
ordinances  and  recognized  in  them  only  one  real 
sacrament,  viz. :  the  pardoning  word  of  God.  He 
here  opposed  Augustine  no  less  than  the  scholastics, 
and  in  combining  the  Christus  praedicatus,  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  and  faith  in  the  closest  unity  he 


i 


I 


Critictam 


THREE-FOLD   TKSriNO   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOOM  A.    553 

excliuled  all  olso:  iVIystical  revelling,  matorial  good, 
the  ojnis  opcratutn,  the  haggling  for  the  sake  of  the 
effect  and  the  dispositions.  Not  as  "instruments" 
of  grace,  which  secretly  ])r('p(irc  future  life  in  men 
and  l)j^  the  transfusion  of  love  mfike  good  works  jjo.s- 
sible^  did  he  apprehend  the  sacraments,  but  as  the 
verbum  visibile^  in  which  God  himself  co-operates 
with  us  and  gives  himself  to  us  to  bo  one  with  him 
in  Christ.  God  irorks  through  the  word  in  the  sac- 
rament faith  and  confidence,  i.e.  ho  works  the  for- 
giveness of  sin.  As  regards  the  Lord's  Supper  and 
baptism  Luther  carried  this  out.  But  he  struck  the 
Catholic  Church  the  severest  blow  by  his  criticism  of 'sSS 
of  the  sacrament  of  penance ;  for  (a)  Ho  restored  the  Penance. 
sovereign  efficacy  of  heart-felt  penitence,  without 
doing  away  with  confessio  and  sat isf  actio,  if  rightly 
interpreted,  (b)  He  conceived  of  this  penitence  in 
opposition  to  the  attritio,  which  was  to  him  a 
Satanic  work,  in  the  strictest  sense  as  hatred  of  sin 
springing  out  of  the  perception  of  the  greatness  of 
the  blessing  which  has  been  forfeited:  "Against 
thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned" ;  (c)  He  promoted  the 
constancy  of  trustful  penitence  and  thereby  ex- 
plained the  penance  done  before  the  priest  as  a  special 
act ;  (d)  He  did  away  with  the  necessity-  of  the  priestly 
cooperation;  (e)  Ho  taught  the  absolute  union  of 
contritio  and  absolntio,  both  of  which  are  included 
in  the  fides;  (f)  He  did  away  with  all  the  mis- 
chief connected  with  the  sacraments :  Computations 
in  regard  to  temporal  and  eternal  benefits,   purga- 


554        OUTLINES   OF  THE   TTTRTOIIY   OF   DOGMA. 


Destroys 
.IlitTiirchi- 
Cttl  Pritjstly 

System. 


t<iry,  worship  of  saints,  nnu'iturioiis  Hatisfactions 
and  iiidulgeiicos,  in  tliat  ho  reduced  everything  to 
eternal  guilt.  Thus  did  he  destroy  the  tree  of  the 
Catholic  Church  by  creating  from  its  roots  light  and 
inclination  and  a  new  impulse. 

(4)  Luther  destroyed  the  vwtivQ  hierarchical  and 
priesfUj  ecclesiastical  system,  denied  to  the  Church 
the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  key  {i.e.  over 
the  word),  declared  the  episcopal  succession  to  be  a 
fiction  and  proclaimed  the  right  of  the  special  priest- 
hood alongside  of  the  general.  In  that  he  left  but 
one  office,  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  to  stand, 
he  dissolved  the  Catholic  Church  of  the  popes  not 
only,  but  also  of  Irenaous. 

(5)  Luther  did  away  with  the  traditional  cnltus 
Cuiius  Or-  ordinances  as  regards  their  form,  aim,  content  and 

significance.  He  would  know  nothing  of  a  specific 
Divine  service,  with  special  priests  and  special  offer- 
ings. He  discarded  the  sacrificial  idea  in  general,  in 
lieu  of  the  one  sufficient  sacrifice  of  Christ.  The 
worship  of  God  is  nothing  else  than  the  simplicity  of 
the  individual's  reverence  for  God  in  time  and  space. 
He  v/ho  attributes  to  it  a  special  merit,  for  the  sake 
of  influencing  God,  commits  sin.  It  has  to  do  only 
with  edification  in  faith  through  the  proclamation  of 
the  Divine  word  and  with  the  general  praise-offering 
of  prayer.  The  true  service  of  God  is  the  Christian 
life  in  reliance  upon  God,  penitence  and  faith,  humil- 
ity and  fidelity  in  duty.  Unto  this  service  of  God 
the  public  service  should  contribute.     Here  also  he 


Does  Away 
with  Tra- 
ditional 


THREE-FOLD    ISSUINCJ   OF    HISTORY   OF   DO(SMA.    5.55 


Hhattered  the  Church,  not  only  of  tht»  Midtlh^  Ages, 
but  also  of  the  ancients. 

(0)  Luther  destroyed  the  formal  cvfrrnal  author- 
ities of  Catholicism;  he  did  away  with  the  distinc- 
tion between  thing  imd  authority.  Because  to  him 
the  proclaimed  Christ  (God  in  Christ,  God's  word) 
was  the  thing  and  the  authority,  he  cast  the  formal 
authorities  overboanl.  Even  before  the  letter  of 
Scripture  he  did  not  hesitate.  During  the  very  time 
when  he  was  contending  against  the  absolute  author- 
ity of  tradition,  of  the  pope  and  of  the  councils,  he 
set  that  which  Christ  did  over  against  the  clear 
letter  of  Scripture  and  did  not  shrink  from  speaking 
of  errors  in  the  Biblical  writers  in  matters  of  faith. 

(7)  Luther  conceded  to  his  opponents  their  dog- 
matic terminology  only  so  far  as  he  did  not  dis- 
card it.  He  had  the  liveliest  feeling  that  the  whole 
terminology  was  at  least  misleading.  This  can  be 
proven  from  his  expositions  (a)  of  the  various  con- 
ceptions of  justification  sanctijicatioy  vivijicatio^ 
regenerato,  etc.,  (b)  of  the  conception  satisfac- 
tion (c)  ecclesiay  (d)  sacramental  (e)  homousion^ 
(f)  trinitas  and  unitas.  The  terminologj^  of  the 
scholastics  he  declared  to  be  false,  that  of  the  old 
Catholic  theologians  to  be  unprofitable  and  cold. 
But  the  most  important  is  that  he  distinguished  in 
the  doctrine  of  God  and  in  Christology  between  that 
which  pertains  to  us  and  that  which  pertains  to  the 
thing  itself,  thereby  clearly  indicating  what  the  doc- 
trine of  faith  really  is  and  what  is  a  matter  of 


Di'stroys 

Kxtvnml 

Authority 

of  Cnthol- 

iclBUl. 


Declares 
DoKiiiatic 
Terminol- 
ogy Mis- 
ieadiUK. 


550       OUTLINES  OP  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOOMA. 


Hi 


sj)ocMil;itiv()    rcaHon,    or  at  ])eHt  the   indemonstrable 
secret  of  faith. 


m 


Up 

Pi 

P^T-- 

E^  y,i 

p    l^^ 

W\    : 

fc^'--  ^^ 

!''■*  ■ 

IxiirriiHiic 

cliiisiiaii- 

ity  l»y 

Kvuii- 

Kelical. 


Immense 
Task! 


Luther  did  away  with  the  old  dogmatic  Christian- 
ity and  put  a  new  evangelical  conception  in  its  place. 
The  Keformation  is  inrefility  an  exit  of  the  history  of 
dogma :  This  the  foregoing  survey  teaches  clearly  and 
explicitly.  That  which  Augustine  began,  but  was 
not  able  to  realize,  Luther  carried  through.  He  estab- 
lished the  evanp^elical  faith  in  the  place  of  the  dogma 
by  doing  away  with  the  dualism  of  dogmatic  Chris- 
tendom and  practical  Christian  self-judgment  and 
independence,  and  thus  freed  Christian  faith  from 
the  trammels  of  the  ancient  philosophy,  of  secular 
knowledge,  of  heathen  ceremonies  and  cunning  mo- 
rality. The  doctrine  of  faith,  the  true  doctrine, 
he  restored  to  its  sovereign  right  in  the  Church — 
to  the  terror  of  the  humanists,  ecclesiastics,  Fran- 
ciscans and  rationalists  ( Aufklarer) .  The  true  the- 
ology should  have  the  deciding  power  in  the  Church. 

But  what  a  task !  It  appeared  still  almost  like  a 
contradiction :  To  restore  the  significance  of  faith  as 
the  content  of  revelation  to  its  central  position  as 
against  all  subtile  reasoning  and  doing,  and  thus  to 
call  out  the  repressed  theoretical  element ;  and  still, 
on  the  other  hand,  not  simply  to  take  that  faith 
which  the  past  has  constructed,  but  rather  to  indi- 
cate the  form  in  which  it  is  life  and  creates  life,  is 
practice  yet  the   practice  of    religion.     From   the 


THREE-FOLD    ISSUING   OF   HISTOKY   OF   DOOMA.    r)r)7 


strable 


greatness  of  the  problem  is  explained  also  the  insolv- 
ency of  those  elements  in  Lnther's  theolo^^y  which 
perverted  the  same  and  must  qualify  the  declaration, 
that  the  Reformati<jn  was  the  end  of  the  history  of 
dogma. 

4.   The  Catholic  Elemcnls  Retained  villi  and 
within  Luther''ii  Christianitfj. 

However  much  or  however  little  Luther  here  re- 
tained— it  belongs  indeed  to  the  "entire  Luther", 
but  not  to  the  "  entire  Christianity"  of  Tjuther.  How 
was  Luther  able  to  retain  Catholic  elements,  and 
what  elements  did  he  conserve?  Of  these  two  (ques- 
tions, which  should  be  answered,  the  first  has  already 
been  answered  in  part  (see  j).  5-43) ;  only  a  few  things 
need  to  be  added  here. 

(1)  Luther  defended  faith  as  against  the  corre- 
sponding works,  the  doctri)ia  evamfelii  as  against 
justifying  penances  and  processes.  Hence  he  stood 
in  danger  of  adopting  or  of  tolerating  every  state- 
ment of  faith,  if  only  it  seemed  free  from  law  and 
works.  He  fell  into  this  pitfall.  His  idea  of 
the  Church  was  perverted  thereby.  It  became  as 
ambiguous  as  the  idea  of  the  doctrina  evangelii 
(fellowship of  faith,  fellowship  of  pure  doctrine). — {'i) 
Luther  thought  in  general  only  of  contending  against 
the  doctrinal  errors  and  abuses  of  the  medijieval 
Church,  and  since  ho  traced  all  misfortunes  to  the 
pope,  he  formed  too  high  an  estimate  of  the  ante-  ipnomnt  of 
papal  ancient  Church. — (3)    Luther  knew  the  old  iic  church. 


Faith  Op. 

)H»H<vl  to 

Works. 


Chi.'f 
At  tuck 
A>,'ainst 

I'OIHJS, 


558        OUTLINES   OF  THE    HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 


w 


!'l 


m' 


^li 


Call.'d 
MiiiHt'ir  a 
Catholic. 


Not  a 
HyHt«'inatic 
Theo- 
logian. 


Able  to  Ex- 
l)rt'88  his 
Faith  in 

Traditional 
Doctrines. 


Sacra- 
ments Still 
Means  of 
Qrace. 


Catholic  Church  very  slightly  and  ascribed  to  its 
decisions  in  an  oUscure  manner  still  a  certain  author- 
ity.— (4)  Luther  always  reckoned  himself  and  his 
undertaking  as  within  the  one  Catholic  Church, 
claimed  that  this  Church  gave  him  the  title-right  to 
his  Reformation,  and  hence  he  had  a  lively  interest 
in  i)rt)ving  the  continuity  of  its  faith.  This  proof 
seemed  most  securely  supplied  in  the  old  faith 
formultis. — (5)  Luther  was  no  systematic  theologian, 
but  romped  in  the  Church  like  a  child  at  home;  he 
had  no  longing  after  the  holiness  of  a  well-ordered 
doctrinal  structure ;  but  his  power  was  likewise  his 
weakness. — ((5)  Luther  was  able  to  express  his  entire 
Christianity  within  the  scheme  of  the  traditional 
doctrines,  and  hence  he  was  at  peace  with  the  old 
formulas. — (7)  Luther  was  in  concreto — not  inten- 
tionally— a  media)\al  exegete;  he  found  therefore 
many  traditional  doctrines  in  the  Scriptures,  although 
they  are  not  contained  therein.  As  regards  history 
he  had  in  truth  intuitive  perception,  but  he  developed 
no  method. — (8)  His  perception  of  the  essence  of  the 
word  of  God  did  not  entirely  destroy  his  Biblicism, 
but  rather  did  this  return  after  1523  more  strongly. 
That  "  it  stands  written",  remained  to  him  a  power. 
— (9)  Also  as  regards  the  sacraments  there  remained 
for  him  still  therein  a  superstitio  as  ^^  means  of 
grace  *^  (instead  as  the  one  grace),  and  this  had  the 
weightiest  consequences  for  his  doctrinal  work. — 
(10)  He  was  unable  to  rid  himself  of  remnants  of  the 
nominalistic  scholasticism,  and  these  influenced  his 


:i 


THRKE-FOLD    ISSUING   OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    559 


doctrine  of  Ood,  of  predestination  and  of  tlie  sacra- 
ments.— (11)  After  that  lie  had  learned  wisdom  in 
his  struggle  with  fanatics,  ho  was  distrustful  of  the 
reason,  and  went  far  beyond  distrust  to  antagonism 
against  it  as  a  prop  of  self-righteousness.  He  in 
truth  hardened  himself  against  reason  in  clever  con- 
fidence, and  retrograded  at  several  important  points 
of  questionable  Catholic  belief  which  recognized  the 
Divine  wisdom  in  paradoxes  and  absurdities,  before 
which  man  must  bow.  Esi)ocially  his  haughty  re- 
pulsion of  the  "enthusiasts",  who  possessed  true  in- 
sight into  not  a  few  points,  and  his  aversion  to  ad- 
vancing along  with  secular  civilization  struck  the 
Reformation  its  severest  blows. 

The  conse(iuence  of  this  conduct  was  that  so  far 
as  Luther  left  a  system  of  theology  to  his  adherents 
it  appeared  as  a  highly  confused  and  unsatisfactory 
picture:  Not  as  a  new  building,  but  as  a  modification 
of  the  traditional  structure.  Accordingly  it  is  clear 
(according  to  Sec.  3)  that  Luther  introduced  no 
finality,  but  only  made  a  partial  beginning  of  a 
reformation  even  according  to  his  oivn  principles. 
The  following  are  the  most  important  confusions  and 
problems  in  his  legacy : 

(1)  The  confounding  of  the  Gospel  and  the  doc- 
trina  evangelii.  Luther  in  truth  never  ceased  to 
consider  the  articuli  fidei  as  a  manifold  testimony 
to  that  with  which  the  Christian  faith  is  alone 
concerned;  yet  along  with  this  he  gave  the  same  still 
a  value  of  its  own.     Accordingly  the   intellectual- 


MHtniBtful 

of 

ReoHOD. 


Luther'i 
Systom 

no 
Fioality. 


Confounds 
Gospel 

and 

Doctrina 

Evangelii. 


6G0       OUTIJNKS   OF   THK    IIIHTOUY    (»K    IXKiMA. 


TUUl 


ii 


»!' 


M 


n 


i  \  i  ■ 
11      1  ■  , 

M  Y'' 

m 
it 

1 1 


ity  of  Hcholaslicism,  ho  Imnlensomo  to  faith,  was 
not  rootod  out;  rather  ditl  it  hooii  hecomo,  under  the 
titloof  j)nn'  (loctriney  a  fearful  power  and  the  Church 
bocamo  a  theologianR*  and  pastors'  (Mnircli  (of.  the 
history  of  the  confessional  in  tlio  Lutlieran  church). 
The  conseijucnce  was  that  (\itholic  mysticism  aj^ain 
crept  in  to  counterbalance  Luther's  p(>culiar  teaching 
(especially  that  of  justification)  and  the  evangelical 
ideal  of  life  was  beclouded  (see  Hitschl,  Gosch.  des 
Pietismus,  IJ  Bde.).  Thus  to  the  future,  instead  of 
a  clear  and  simple  beipiest  as  regards  faith,  doctrine 
and  tho  Church,  wjis  rather  left  a  probli'm,  viz. :  To 
maintain  tho  "teaching"  in  the  true  Lutheran  sense, 
and  yet  to  free  it  above  all  from  everything  which 
cannot  be  appropriated  through  s])iritual  submis- 
sion, and  to  stamp  the  Church  as  the  fellowship  of 
faith,  without  giving  it  tho  character  of  a  theolog- 
ical school. 

(2)  The  cotifanndhiQ  of  vrauijdical  faith  and 
YAixhMvi  fff<'  ^>l^l  dogma.  Since  Luther  expressed  his  new  re- 
Dogma.  demptivG  faith  in  the  language  of  the  old  dogma,  it 
was  not  possible  to  prevent  the  latter  from  asserting 
its  old  claims  and  its  old  aims, — yes,  he  himself  fur- 
ther developed  the  same  within  the  original  scheme  of 
Christology,  viz.,  in  his  doctrine  of  tho  Lord's  Sup- 
per. In  that  he  however  poured  the  new  wine  into 
the  old  wine-skins,  there  arose  a  speculation  regard- 
ing tho  ubiijuity  of  the  body  of  Christ  which  ranged 
over  the  loftiest  heights  of  scholastic  inconsistency. 
Tho  sad  consequence  was  that  Lutheranism  imme- 


Confounda 
Evan 


I\ 


TIIUKK-KOLI)    ISSUIN(}    OK   HlSTOUY    OF    I)0(iMA.    M\ 


t'»,    was 

Church 
(cf.  tlio 
''hurch). 

»('hin^r 
>goh'cal 
eh.  (?os 
'toad  of 

oc'tri  no 

«onsc, 

H'Jiich 
nhrnis- 
Jiij)  of 
loolog. 

^*  and 
3Wre- 
na,  it 
rting 
'  fur- 
no  of 
Sup- 
into 
ard- 
ged 

ne- 


diutoly  maintained  as  notd  vcclvsiae  tho  niont  ox-  p.^.J'i'.iln^ 
trcinn  Kchohistic  teaching  whicli  any  Church  has 
ever  maintained.  This  fact  is  not  strange;  for  how 
can  one  without  absurdity  inchidc  within  tlie  scheme 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  two  n.'itures  th(»  faith-idea  that 
the  man  J(;sus  Christ  is  th(^  revelation  of  (lod  liimself, 
in  HO  far  as  Ood  lias  given  us  in  him  to  know  his  own 
fatherly  heart,  laying  it  bare  to  uh?  Even  because 
Luther  first  really  made  earnest  work  with  faith  in  the 
God-man  (the  oneness  of  God  and  man  in  Christ), 
must  the  /icTufiaan  to  the  speculation  regarding  the 
"natures"  have  the  most  distressing  consequences. 
The  same  can  bo  sh<)W*n  as  regards  the  reception  of  the  Empha- 
Augustinian  doctrine  of  the  original  state  mid  of  orig-  J'a™**<>«e8. 
inal  sin.  Hero  also  Luther  could  only  increase  the 
paradoxes  and  absurdities,  in  that  he  sought  to  express 
in  these  formulas  his  evangelical  conviction  that  all 
sin  is  godlessness  and  guilt.  Everywhere  it  is  plain 
that  when  the  evangelical  faith  is  thrust  into  the 
dogmatico-rational  scheme  which  the  Greeks,  Au- 
gustine and  the  scholastics  created,  it  leads  to  bizarre 
formulas, — yes,  first  makes  this  scheme  wholly  irra- 
tional. Therefore  the  Reformation  of  tho  future 
has  the  task  of  doing  away  with  this  cosmo-theistic 
philosophy  and  of  putting  in  its  place  the  simple  ex- 
pression of  faith,  tho  true  self-judgment  in  the  light 
of  tho  Gospel  and  tho  real  import  of  history. 

(3)   T'e  confounding  of  the  word  of  God  and  the  ^^o?d  o*}" 
Sacred  Scriptures.     Luther,  as  has  been  remarked,    antfBibie. 

never  overcame  his  wavering  between  a  qualitative 
86 


662      OUTLINES  OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


h  '« 


Confounds 

Grace 

and  Meang 

of  Grace. 


and  a  literal  estimate  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the 
controversy  regarding  the  Lord's  Supper  only  con- 
firmed him  in  the  latter  view.  He  had  not  yet  broken 
the  bondage  of  the  letter.  Thus  it  happened  that  his 
church  arrived  at  the  most  stringent  doctrine  of  in- 
spiration, while  it  never  quite  forgot  that  the  content 
of  th  ^  Gospel  is  not  everything  that  is  contained  be- 
tween the  lids  of  the  Bible,  but  that  it  is  the  procla- 
mation of  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ.  Here  also 
remains  to  the  Church  of  the  Reformation  the  task  of 
dealing  earnestly  with  the  Christianity  of  Luther 
as  against  the  "entire  Luther". 

(4)  The  confounding  of  grace  and  the  means  of 
grace  (sacraments).  The  firm  and  exclusive  con- 
ception which  Luther  formed  of  God,  Christ,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  word  of  God,  faith,  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  and  justification  (grace)  is  his  greatest  service, 
above  all  the  recognition  of  the  inseparableness  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  word.  But  by  an  apparently 
slight  modification  he  arrived  at  very  doubtful  con- 
clusions, in  that  he  finally  transferred  that  which 
pertains  to  the  word  (Christ,  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel)  to  the  idea  "  vocal e  verbum  et  sacramenta  ". 
Rigiicly  did  he  contend  that  Christ  himself  works 
through  the  word  and  that  one  is  not  to  accept  an  out- 
ward union  of  word  and  Spirit,  sign  and  thing  sig- 
nified. But  not  only  by  the  setting  apart  of  certain 
^I'li'^la?  ordinances  and  "  means  of  grace"  did  he  return  to  the 
System,  narrov^^  circle  of  the  Middle  Ages  which  he  had  for- 
saken— the  Christian  lives,  as  he  himself  best  knew, 


i\ 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OP   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA.    503 


mdthe 
ly  con- 
broken 
hat  bis 
of  in- 
;ontent 
aed  be- 
procla- 
3re  also 
task  of 
Luther 

arts  of 
TQ  con- 
st, the 
iveness 
ervice, 
aess  of 
arently 
ul  con- 
which 
of  the 
3nta  ". 
works 
anout- 
ig  sig- 
3ertain 
I  to  the 
ad  for- 
knew, 


Justifies 

Baptisui 

Strictly 

as  Means  of 

Qracti. 


not  by  means  of  grace,  but  by  personal  communion 
with  God,  whom  he  lays  hold  of  in  Christ, — but 
in  still  greater  measure  by  the  effort,  (A)  To  justify 
infant  baptism  as  a  means  of  grace  in  the  strictest 
sense,  (B)  To  accept  penance  still  also  as  the  means 
of  grace  in  the  initiation,  (C)  To  maintain  the  real 
presence  of  the  body  of  Christ  in  the  eucharist  as 
the  essential  element  of  the  sacrament. 

Note  on  (A) .  The  forgiveness  of  sin  (grace)  and 
faith  being  inseparably  united,  infant  baptism  is 
then  not  a  sacrament  in  the  strict  sense  {"abseute 
fide  baptismus  niidiim  et  inefficax  signmii  tantum- 
modo  permaneV\  says  Luther  himself  in  his  Larger 
Catechism).  In  order  to  avoid  this  conclusion, 
Luther  resorted  to  subterfuges  which  mark  a  relapse 
into  Catholicism  {fides  implicita,  substitution.*] 
faith) .  The  worst  of  it  was  that  he  granted  the  per- 
mission— in  order  to  preserve  infant  baptism  as  a 
complete  sacrament — to  separate  regeneration  and 
justification  (objective  and  subjective) .  Infant  bap- 
tism thus  became  a  sacrament  of  justification  (not 
of  regeneration) ;  the  worst  confusion  set  in  and  that 
glorious  jewel  of  evangelical  Christianity,  justi- 
fication, became  externalized  and  hastened  to  be- 
come a  dogmatic  locus  along  with  the  others  and 
lost  its  practical  significance. 

Note  on  (B).     Faith  and  true  penitence  are  accord- 
ing to  Luther  one,  yet  so  that  faith  is  prius:  In  so    o/orMe. 
far  as  the  Christian  lives  continually  in  faith,  he 
lives  continually  in  penitence;   special  penitential 


Accepts 
Penance  as 


564       OUTLINES   OP  THE   HISTORY   OF  DOGMA. 


11 

p'l 

si'  '^ 

11; 

1(  >'  i'i , 

^^W 

mi  ^  ' 

nl  1 

If! ' 

m 

r  ''■ 

m     I 


Restores 
Confes- 
sional. 


acts  have  no  value,  and  without  true  faith  there  is 
absohitely  no  true  penitence.  Thus  Luther  preached 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  believing  Christian.  The 
danger  that  this  doctrine  might  lead  to  ethical  laxity 
is  quite  as  clear  as  the  other  danger,  that  thereby 
one  could  convert  no  Turks,  Jews,  or  vile  sinners. 
Melanchthon  first,  then  Luther  felt  this.  But  in- 
stead of  distinguishing  between  pedagogical  mis- 
sionary principles  and  the  statement  of  faith,  they — 
because  the  Catholic  sacrament  of  penance  still  influ- 
enced them — carried  the  former  over  into  the  latter, 
and  accordingly  encouraged  an  ante-faith  penitence, 
which  could  no  longer  be  distinguished  from  the 
attritio,  and  then  permitted  the  sacrament  of  pen- 
ance (without  obligatory  oral  confession  and  satis- 
factions) to  enter  as  an  act  of  forensic  justification. 
True,  Luther  along  with  this  always  retained  his 
old  correct  view;  but  the  idea,  when  once  al- 
lowed entrance,  developed  with  frightful  rapidity 
and  created  a  practice,  which  was  worse,  because  it 
was  more  lax,  than  the  Romish  confessional  (see 
the  reaction  of  pietism) .  In  it  the  idea  of  faith  was 
externalized,  even  to  mere  attendance  upon  Church ; 
the  old  accepted  efficacious  means  of  grace  ex  opere 
operato  came  to  the  front  very  slightly  decked,  and 
the  justification  of  the  sinner  was  jumbled  into  an 
outer  forensic  act,  a  conscience-soothing  Divine  judg- 
ment, which  crept  in  inevitably  when  the  priest  ab- 
solved the  sinner  in  foro.  In  order  to  repress 
frivolity,  the  back-door  of    the  Catholic  idea  was 


.!  3.: 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING   OF  HISTORY   OP  DOGMA.    565 


opened,  and  the  frivolity  now  first  became  great! 
The  thought,  however,  that  justification  is  the  sphere 
and  the  edification  of  the  Christian  was  hopelessly 
obscured;  it  passed  now  only  as  the  jiistificatio 
impii.  Therefore  must  the  pious  look  about  for  a 
new  means  of  edification,  if  now  his  justification 
is  only  a  (repetitious)  "objective"  initiation  act. 
Here  lies  to-day  still  the  fundamental  curse. 

Note  on  (C).  Numberless  times  did  Luther  recog- 
nize that  one  may  seek  in  the  word  and  in  the  sac- 
rament only  for  the  assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of 
sin,  and  with  "  grim  contempt"  did  he  reject  every- 
thing which  men  then  made  dependent  upon  the  sac- 
rament. He  also  never  surrendered  this  convic- 
tion, irhich  does  not  alloiv  the  question  concerning 
the  body  of  Christ  in  the  eucharist  to  crop  out  as 
a  theological  question  at  all.  But  when  he  saw 
that  first  Karlstadt,  then  Zwingli  and  others  per- 
mitted the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  to  be  sepa- 
rated and  thus  endangered  the  certainty  of  the  for- 
giveness of  sin  in  the  sacrament,  he  sought,  influenced 
likewise  by  mediaeval  tradition,  to  securely  establish 
the  latter  by  laying  hold  of  the  real  presence  in  the 
sacrament,  and  he  defended  this  with  increasing 
temper  and  complete  stubbornness  as  though  the 
question  was  as  to  the  reality  or  non-reality  of 
the  forgiveness  of  sin .  One  can  understand  Luther's 
position  in  the  controversy  only  when  one  recognizes 
this  quid  pro  quo,  and  when  one  further  realizes  that 
Luther  instinctively  sought  for  a  means  of  ridding 


Maintains 

Real 
Presenc^e  in 
Eucharist, 


Karlstadt, 
Zwingli. 


5C0        OUTLINES   OF  THE   HISTORY   OP   DOGMA. 


U' 


Revives 


himself  of  spirits  who  Ciowded  about  him  and  to 
whom  in  true  self -protection — in  the  interest  of  his 
evangelical  perception  and  of  his  standing  as  a  re- 
former— he  could  not  extend  the  hand.  But  the 
Blbilclsm.  thing  had  its  own  logic.  While  contending  in  the 
name  of  faith  for  the  one  point,  the  real  presence, 
which  did  not  express  the  nature  and  peculiarity  of 
his  own  faith,  all  the  mediaeval  interests  in  him 
were  aroused  which  seemed  to  have  been  over- 
come. Here  awakened  Biblicism  ("  esf\  "  esf ),  here 
scholastic  doctrinarianism  in  the  place  of  the  fides 
sola,  here  a  perverse  interest  in  sophistical  specula- 
tions, here  an  unheard-of  regard  for  the  sacrament 
alongside  of  and  above  the  word,  here  a  leaning 
toward  the  opus  operatum,  and  above  all  a  narrow- 
hearted  and  loveless  temper!  As  regards  the 
statement  of  the  doctrine  itself,  it  could  not  fail 
to  be  more  paradoxical  than  the  Catholic.  Transub- 
stantiation  was  not  recognized,  but  the  hypothetical 
declaration  of  Occam  and  other  nominalists,  that  in 
one  and  the  same  space  (with,  by,  and  beneath)  the 
visible  elements  and  the  true  body  of  Christ  are  en- 
closed. The  same  man  who  earlier  had  derided  the 
scholastics  now  explained :  "  The  sophists  speak  cor- 
rectly here",  supplied  his  Church  with  a  Christology 
which  in  scholastic  inconsistency  far  exceeds  the 
Thomistic  (ubiquity  of  the  body  of  Christ),  eliminated 
faith  from  the  sacrament  so  completely  that  he  raised 
the  doctrine  of  the  manducatio  infidelium  to  the 
articulus  stantis  et  cadentis  ecclesiae  ("  the  body 


Revives 
Occam's 

View. 


THREE-FOLD   ISSUING  OF   HISTORY   OF   DOGMA.    567 


and  to 
of  his 
IS  a  re- 
liit  the 
in  the 
esence, 
irity  of 
n  him 
I   over- 
'),  here 
e  fides 
3ecula- 
rament 
eaning 
arrow- 
Is    the 
ot  fail 
ansub- 
betical 
hat  in 
h)  the 
ire  en- 
ed  the 
k  cor- 
x)logy 
is  the 
nated 
•aised 
o  the 
body 


of  Christ  is  bitten  by  the  teeth")  and  trumped  the  ir- 
rationality of  the  doctrine  as  a  stamp  of  its  Divine 
truth. 

Through  the  form  which  Luther  gave  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  eucharist  he  is  partially  to  blame  that  the 
later  Lutheran  church  in  its  Christology,  in  its  doc- 
trine of  the  sacraments,  in  its  doctrinarianism  and  in 
the  false  standard  by  which  it  measures  departures  in 
doctrine  and  proclaims  them  heretical,  threatens  to 
become  a  scrawny  twin  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  for 
Catholicism  is  not  the  pope,  nor  the  worship  of  the 
saints,  nor  the  mass — these  are  consequences, — but 
the  false  doctrine  of  the  sacraments,  of  penance,  of 
faith  and  of  authority  in  matters  of  faith. 

The  form  which  the  churches  of  the  Reformation 
took  in  the  16th  century,  was  not  homogeneous,  or 
definite :  This  the  history  of  Protestantism  indicates 
even  to  this  day.  Luther  once  more  lifted  the  Gos- 
pel, placed  it  upon  the  lamp-stand  and  subordinated 
dogma  to  it.  It  now  remains  to  hold  fast  to  and 
carry  forward  that  which  he  began. 

Gott  sclienko  uns  nur  ein  festes  Herz,  Muth, 
Demuth  und  Geduld ! 


FINIS. 


Luthor's 
Weakness 


Luther'g 
Strength. 


